Not Another SI Fic: Part 5
by Enigmatic Magus
Summary: With the survivors of Third Impact now along for the ride, numerous projects and problems both plague and await the fleet and its personnel. Only time will tell if this new universe will help or hinder in these ventures. Pokemon.
1. Prologue

Unlike the various meetings held planet-side, the somber meeting taking place in the main conference room aboard the _Jupiter's Thunder_ was surprisingly silent, with none of the casual remarks and commentary that made earlier meetings feel so much more alive.

But for most of the people joining, that was all but expected of them. It's not every day your entire world is basically sterilized. Most of the people here had been directly involved in the efforts to prevent that from happening, and for those that had lived there, the situation looked grim, indeed.

"We've already had two attempted suicides, and I don't think those are going to be the last," Dr. Akagi said, as the meeting's topic turned to the evacuated civilians... or _refugees_, now.

"We need to organize something for them to do. Keep them occupied so they don't have so much time to dwell on what's happened," Fuyutsuki stated.

"I agree, but look at the statistics," Nabiki replied, tossing a datapad towards him. It slid towards him, only stopping as he brought his hand down on it, and she continued as he picked it up. "Almost half the people we rescued were families with children. Anywhere from grade-schoolers to high-school students. Even if we give them something to do, a large portion of the adult populace is going to be stuck watching their kids."

"Maintenance crews are already complaining about the places some of the younger adults are getting off to, too. They aren't just exploring; vandalism and random destruction is being reported across the ship," Captain Archer said, thumbing through his own datapad.

Misato Katsuragi slumped to the table with her head in her hands. "Lets face it, Tokyo-3 was one of the few places with normal- or above-normal- family rates. Partially because of the Marduk Report," As she said this she glared at Dr. Akagi briefly, before continuing, "and partially because the city was the proverbial beacon of hope."

"All posts aboard_The Nerve_ are currently filled by people pulled from the_Thunder_, so not one of our Departments has a full staff. And there are differences between the engineering section of an Executor-class Star Destroyer and an ImpStar Deuce," Kei stated, getting slight nods from Mei and Nei.

"How are the logistics being handled for supplies?" Makoto asked.

"Currently, the liberated goods from the Tokyo-3 area are being used, after which I will begin beaming over stores from the _Thunder_," SHODAN replied, sounding rather smug.

"At least we're covered there," I muttered, knowing the ship was stocked with enough food to last years.

"Only if you like your food raw," Nei said with a scowl. "They don't have any cooks, so most of the food is being eaten cold. It's still fresh enough _now_, but in a few more days, if we don't get some sort of mess hall established, were going to be looking at a lot more problems."

"What about the refugees?" Lieutenant Ibuki asked.

I blinked. "Err, Maya, that's what we're talking about," I said, frowning at her.

She blushed and fidgeted in her seat. "No, that's not what I-" she took a breath, then spoke again, "I meant, why don't we see if they are willing to do that. There have to be some cooks down there; Tokyo-3 certainly had its share of restaurants."

Fuyutsuki nodded, and I shrugged. "It's worth a shot. Our basic statistics don't list things like occupations or previous work experience. Why don't you," I pointed at the three bridge bunnies, "get yourselves a portable table and start finding out who over there knows what."

"You also have most of the NERV Guards, Commander," Rei stated.

"Yeah," I replied, thinking about it. "Yeah, that's true. Fuyutsuki, if you could get with them, probably need SHODAN's help, too... See if you can get them a basic patrol route around the Refugee area."

"If you do that, I don't recommend arming them. At least, not as obviously as they were down... back... you know..." Nabiki said, faltering as she tried to avoid bringing up the recent past.

Kozo nodded, "I don't think leaving them unarmed is the answer, but I understand your concern. That ship is far smaller than the Geofront, so we can keep them grouped... Teams of three, I think; one with a side arm, and another with a radio."

Makoto nodded. "Enough to intimidate a gang of children, but not enough of a threat to start a riot."

"Right, so once that's done, we should have a better idea of what we have to work with," Misato said, leaning back in her chair and staring up at the ceiling for a moment. "We should probably keep the NERV Guards outside the Refugee area itself. If we evacuated the city, then there should be police officers in there as well that can work in the crowds without causing as much fear."

"We'll probably have to deputize some people if we do that. Tokyo-3's police force was heavily reliant upon NERV's support," Fuyutsuki said.

"I know, but we did have a few uniformed officers around. They should help give the refugees a sense of security and safety," Misato answered, her lips twitching as if she was just about to smile.

"You should also see about restarting schools. Without textbooks or terminals, it'll be difficult, but it should keep everyone my age busy some of the time," Shinji said.

Everyone stared at him for a moment, before Nabiki smiled. "He's right. That'll help cut down on the vandalism too, I'll bet. At least during the times school will be in."

"And where will you be, young man?" Fuyutsuki said, fixing him with a gaze that left little room for argument.

Shinji, instead of backing down, frowned, "I'm not with NERV anymore. I-"

"YOU-" I said, cutting him off, "-are an Imperial. And as such, are mine to command. Though you may hate it, Commander Fuyutsuki is correct. You should go to school." When Shinji started to protest, I waved him back, "Rei will be going too. And as soon as this refugee situation is taken care of, we'll probably find a better way for you to learn what you need to in order to 'graduate.'" I smirked at him slightly, before shrugging, "Besides, you're a hero, remember? Your example will help make this go smoothly."

"We should address that next," Captain Archer stated, somewhat awkwardly.

"What? Schooling?" Makoto asked, frowning.

"No, Milady, NERV, and the inevitable dissolution thereof," the Captain elaborated.

"Ahh, yeah. Actually, most everyone here has a rank already. If they intend to merge, I'd say Imperial Army Ranks of the same level, for almost everyone," I replied, glancing around the table.

"And Dr Akagi?" The Captain inquired.

I frowned. "Hmm... Ritsuko, you want to wear a uniform?" I asked, wondering how many lab coats she had. When she shook her head no, I shrugged, then turned to Captain Archer. "I'd say... simulated Naval Commander rank, full clearance with SHODAN oversight, and only has to answer to you, Makoto, Nabiki, Fuyutsuki or me."

Captain Archer quirked a brow, "And Commander Cantrall?"

I frowned, "got a glass of cold water handy?" My aide's eyes widened slightly, and I smirked, "I'm not angry at him, but I'm not going to go out of my way for him, either."

Captain Archer nodded, and I turned to Dr. Akagi, "that sound agreeable?"

"Just so long as SHODAN doesn't question everything I look up. I'm still trying to familiarize myself with the available technology," the faux-blonde replied.

"And Commander Fuyutsuki? There is no Commander rank in the Imperial Army," Archer asked.

"I could use his-" Nabiki paused, then turned to look at the elder Commander before restarting, "-_your_... help in Intelligence. I've seen what you did with NERV; I could use that level-headed thinking if... and _when_... things start getting... hairy again."

Fuyutsuki smiled slightly, either at the compliment, or the thought of being wanted, but then he shook his head. "Before NERV, I was a college professor... I've seen and done a lot in my life, and if there's one thing I wouldn't mind giving up, it's this militant command."

Everyone at the table stared at him, and he met everyone's gaze briefly as he swept his eyes across the room, before smiling wryly. "Before you all think I'm abandoning you, let me offer this suggestion: those refugees will have to get settled in eventually, and when they do, they'll need someone to come to, with both suggestions and complaints. While it may seem I'm trading one command for another, I think I'd prefer it if I could help there... help _build_, after all my life's work has managed to destroy."

Nabiki blinked. "So... some sort of Administrator?"

Fuyutsuki nodded. "If that's what it's called. I... I just think I could help better there than I could here," he said, with some finality.

I frowned, "You know at that level, you're going to be liaising with me... with _us_ here an awful lot. And that's going to put you in the spotlight for every major dispute and complaint the populace has..." I trailed off as he nodded, holding his hand up for me to stop.

"I've considered all of this... but if you must, consider this my atonement for participating in something that I never should have let happen in the first place. I understand it'll be a lot of work, but it'll also be back among people who want to make the world a better place. No offense to you all, but NERV, and by extension now, The Empire, are both parts of my life I'd like to distance myself from." He looked down as he said this, and I imagined I could almost see the weight of all the years at NERV, silently watching the world move closer and closer to its inevitable apocalypse weighing down on him.

"Even so, like Kyle said, you're going to be dealing with the Empire a lot if you chose to help head up whatever government is eventually formed," Makoto protested.

Fuyutsuki nodded, "I can live with dealings and interactions. All I ask is that I be allowed to explain myself if I disagree with something, and I'm given some leeway to help establish a system that works for everyone."

I shrugged, "I can't really see why I'd have a problem with that. Just in case though, like Dr. Akagi, I'd prefer it if you had a simulated rank at the least, so that even if you _aren't_ dealing with them directly, any enlistee or officer who you might meet will at least give you proper respect... and attention, if it's an emergency."

He nodded. "I can live with that. What did you have in mind?"

I frowned in thought, before turning to the Trio. "It's your ship, and everyone knows it, but would you mind having another Captain aboard, even simulated?"

The three shared a quick look, before Mei responded: "It's fine with us, so long as his orders don't interfere with ours."

Fuyutsuki smiled slightly. "I'll do my best to keep you informed if even the possibility of that happening exists."

I turned to Archer and nodded.

"Next, you have Chairman Lorenz to deal with," SHODAN interjected in the ensuing silence.

I frowned, "before that, anyone else not want an Imperial Commission? As you just saw with Com... Err..." I trailed off and a couple people around the table smiled at the almost-error. "_Mister_ Fuyutsuki, none of us will think less of you if you decide to turn civilian. Everyone at this table has skills I'd pay for, even if you don't wear a uniform while performing them."

There was a moment of silence, before Maya Ibuki spoke up "I don't think any of us had any plans, Commander... At least, none that are really valid, now. I don't know about everyone else, but I'm comfortable with what we've just set up now..." She trailed off, and I noticed multiple heads around the table nodding slightly at that.

"Alright then," I said, looking everyone in the eye as I continued. "You'll have a couple weeks before everything is locked in, incase you change your minds, but unless you do, then let me be the first to welcome you to The Empire."

"_Your_ Empire," Makoto whispered, leaning over to make sure I was the only one who heard.

Turning to meet her gaze, I quietly corrected her, "_Our _Empire."

She nodded at that, and I smiled softly, before we straightened back up. "As for Keele..." I shrugged as I considered it. "He killed your world. I won't insult you all by calling it _our_ world, though in the time I spent there, I got to know it fairly well, and had begun to think of it as a home-away-from-home... that aside, however, you all have more say in this than I... you and the thousands of refugees currently aboard _The Nerve_."

Nabiki scowled, "as manipulative as it may sound, I really thing we should make his role known- _to the point of embellishment_- in what happened back on your Earth. A public trial at the very least... and if they ask for it, a public execution."

"You'd best ensure nobody is armed if you bring him out. A number of NERV Personnel already know what his role was. I personally briefed Section Two, in case he was ever in town so they would detain him with extreme prejudice," Misato snarled.

I nodded, "That makes sense. I think I'll leave that up to Administrator Fuyutsuki to handle. This is a Tokyo-3 matter. I'm merely the jailer in this case." I turned to Fuyutsuki, "That said, while I'll back up whatever you decide publicly, if your punishment fails to fit the crime in _my_ eyes, I can't promise that I won't take some leeway in interpreting your decision."

Fuyutsuki frowned, "I really doubt that will be necessary. As the actual cause of Third Impact, it's safe to assume that he will be summarily executed."

I tilted my head in acquiescence.

"If we're currently talking prisoners, now would be a good time to decide what to do with Gendo," Nabiki stated off-handily.

"He should join Keele," Makoto spat from beside me, the venom in her voice readily apparent to everyone at the table.

"No!" Shinji said, jumping to his feet. When everyone turned their gaze on him, he visibly wilted under the pressure, before speaking again, this time with some hesitation. "I mean... I understand he killed one of your men, Sir," he said, looking at me, "but he's my family, and... I don't like him... and I don't know him, I suppose... but this feels wrong." Turning to look at me imploringly, he spoke again, this time barely above a whisper, "please, sir. Lord Kyle. Don't kill him."

I sighed, before turning to Fuyutsuki, "Kozo, you stood beside of behind him for years, both at NERV and Gehirn before it... You are, I'm sure, aware of my feelings on this, as you do Makoto's... and the rest of the Imperial staff, as well. Do you have anything to say in Gendo Ikari's defense?"

Fuyutsuki scowled at being put on the spot, but only for a moment as he leaned forward on the table and sighed, resting his head in his hands. "Gendo... is one of the most ruthless people I've ever had the displeasure of knowing. He's done anything and everything to achieve his goals, and I was- I'm sorry to say- right there beside him almost all of the way."

I nodded, trying to find the best way to apologize to Shinji, when Kozo spoke again. "However!" As his voice rose, he sat back and met my gaze calmly, "there was a time... brief as it was, when he was a man I could admire, though he would never be a friend. A person I both respected and admired, both for his skill, determination, and ability, instead of cold ruthlessness. And I'd be lying if I didn't tell you that Ikari _himself _knew it."

Fuyutsuki turned to Shinji, and sighed, before continuing. "You know I was a teacher, a _professor_, before I became the Sub-Commander at NERV... I knew how to read a person pretty well, and even Gendo gave away his thoughts and feelings from time to time... as hard as it may be to believe, Shinji, Gendo _feared _you. Why, only he can tell you. But I knew the man. Know the man... and dealing with you nearly terrified him."

Returning his gaze to me, Fuyutsuki sighed, before shaking his head, "I cannot tell you he is a good person. Even at his best, he was still somewhat cold. However, if you want to see the true Gendo Ikari, you'll have to bring back Yui."

I sighed. That wasn't really what I had wanted to hear, because despite what he had done, it was enough to make me feel a bit of sympathy for the man. I still didn't have enough to stay his execution, but before I could say as much, Fuyutsuki caught my eye and nodded towards Rei, who was looking somewhat thoughtful.

Knowing this wouldn't help my case any, but also knowing that, for the sake of fairness, I had to, I asked her what was on her mind.

"The Commander... cared for me. Whether it was because I look somewhat like Yui Ikari, or I was instrumental in his plans, I do not know, but even though he knew I could be replaced at any time until you arrived, when I was in danger, he did show emotion, and concern, for me, the one person nobody needed to." Rei's voice was quiet, but everyone practically held their breaths as they hung on her every word. When she finished, everyone turned to look at me.

Before I could speak, though, Nabiki snorted. "Right. He also had Unit-00's arm blown off without bothering to cut the nerve-link in the original fight against Bardiel, and aside from that incident during the re-activation test, did he ever show _true _concern for you? That incident was most likely the best way to cement your trust in him... a trust that was only broken once Shinji here repeated the action, only for the _right _reasons."

"She's right, Rei," Makoto chimed in from beside me. "Remember, originally, you yourself rejected Gendo for Shinji in the end."

"That may be true. However, your arrival invalidated that timeline, and the reasons that other me did what she did are not my own. In my time with both NERV and The Empire, I've seen both injustice and justice done... If you are asking me, my belief is that Commander Ikari be given a chance to defend himself and his actions. That is the way of the law, now that we are no longer at war."

Makoto and Nabiki collapsed back into their chairs, and I felt my argument slipping further. "Does anyone else have anything to say in Gendo's defense?" I asked with a scowl.

"He may be a user; and cold, callous, and apathetic to anyone else's plight but his own," Misato started.

"But...?" I prompted, already expecting what she said next.

"... but Rei is right. If he is to be sentenced, then he should be allowed to defend his actions. None of us may fully like it, but he wasn't..." she paused, frowning, before hesitantly continuing, "_officially_ in the wrong, doing what he did. I brought you in unannounced and we were all assuming the power-outage was sabotage. While capturing potential enemies would have been preferable, the bay _was_ a classified, shoot-on-sight location."

I sighed heavily, collapsing back into my chair much as Makoto and Nabiki had a moment ago. "Fine. I'll hold off on his sentencing... once you've set it up, Fuyutsuki, whatever court-system you establish will be used to try him. And the Empire _will_ press for capital punishment."

Fuyutsuki nodded. "He may well deserve it... but it will be the law that decides. And I thank you for hearing us out."

I waved that off, annoyed at the unexpected and annoying turn, before turning to General Hongo, "General, I believe you're up."

Both General Hongo and Admiral Yuki read off the statistics of Imperial Equipment and Soldiers lost in the fighting. While SHODAN tried to retrieve as many bodies as she could in what little time she had, a number were buried in the rubble of collapsed buildings, and a total of 417 Stormtroopers had died fighting in the streets, Four TIE-Defenders to an overwhelming onslaught of missiles, a Bomber lost the same way. Aside from that, _all_ our equipment on the ground had been left behind, as SHODAN was too busy teleporting people to retrieve the much more massive AT-STs and the AT-AT barges had no time to retrieve those that remained.

"As far as manpower goes, My Lord, that 417 is a drop in the bucket from the numbers aboard... the loss of equipment, however, was much worse, considering how few we initially carry. If we have the chance to resupply, I'd like to use a W-D to replenish some of our stock. And if it is likely to happen again, I'd like to request some space on_The Nerve_ be set aside for extra equipment," the General concluded.

I nodded. "Get with the Trio after this to find out what's available, and I'll see what we can find to replace what's missing. If some of them wish to, we can potentially recruit some new Stormtroopers, though that's a concern more for the future. Dr. Akagi, you're up."

The Doctor, who'd remained quiet for quite some time merely nodded, before typing something on the datapad before her. "Basically," she finally said, "I'm going to have Units -00 and -04 to remain combat ready, while Unit-02 stays in storage, observed for changes, and unit-01 will be prepped for a possible retrieval of Dr. Ikari. Damages sustained by Unit-04 were moderate, including major stress and damage to the legs when you leapt into the Geofront, as well as the occasional attack that got through. Unit-00 is also in need of regeneration, and I can't imagine what combat damage on unit-01 might transfer to Dr. Ikari if we were to proceed with our plan before healing all wounds there, as well."

She paused, to catch her breath, before summarizing, "in short, it will be a week at least before we can attempt the retrieval with Unit-01, and that's ignoring all other tasks. I'm also low on LCL, as we didn't have time to get more than a million liters shipped up before everything fell apart."

"Well, my plan was a good one, we just didn't have time to implement it," Nabiki grumbled.

"I doubt you're the only one feeling that way today," Kaji said, speaking up for the first time today. There was no laughter, but a couple people smiled slightly, and I nodded. "Do what you can, but I think we all agree that Unit-01 should be your priority for now. There are no more Angels, so Units -00 and -04 can wait for their repairs."

Everyone nodded at that, and I looked at everyone at the table, realizing everything that needed to be said was apparently finished. "Anyone else have anything to add before we all get to work?

"Someone needs to tell the refugees what happened," Lieutenant Hyuga stated.

Captain Archer spoke up, "While I believe some of your previously-discussed plans would help, as this is Lord Kyle's ship, a ship-wide speech might solve that problem and the morale issue no doubt beginning to encroach upon our own forces."

I blinked, before nodding slowly. "That makes sense. Give me an hour or so, and I'll do what I can... anyone else have anything else to add?"

There were no replies to that, and I finally smiled slightly, "Then ladies and gentlemen, let me conclude this final meeting between the Empire and NERV... and let's get to work."

Two hours later, speakers everywhere aboard _The Nerve_ and _Jupiter's Thunder_crackled to life as multiple screens flickered on to display my face. As I stood on the bridge, trying not to think of the thousands of people I knew were watching me, I began speaking as the words appeared in the air before me courtesy of SHODAN and the holographic projector.

"Ladies and gentlemen of Tokyo-3... for those of you who do not know me, I am Kyle Kino, an ally of NERV, and Commanding Officer of these two ships..."

I paused for a moment, before continuing. "As you have probably heard by now, Tokyo-3- and Earth as you know it- has been lost; every living organism destroyed in a purposefully-instigated Third-Impact. While I will be releasing the paperwork explaining things in detail to you all shortly, let me just say that the final foe that drove most of you into the Angel Shelters was no Angel. It was mankind. Driven into Tokyo-3 through the lies and machinations of a shadowy group of men known as SEELE."

I waited a moment for that to sink in, and wondered how the people were taking it. There was one monitor I could watch that oversaw a large portion of the populace, but from this angle, individual faces were hard to make out. "We have since traveled to another universe, where the effects of Third Impact cannot reach up, and the ever present threat of the Angels is no more. More details on this, and other questions I know you all have are being made available to you as I speak, but I'd like to let you all know that the threat of the angels for us is over, and now is the time to begin rebuilding."

"An interim government has been established for now, but once we've squared away the necessities, an elected government, chosen by you, will liaise with my soldiers and assist in returning your lives to something approaching normal."

That was it. I nodded once, unsure what to close with, and the camera stopped recording.

"That sucked," I said, letting the rest of the air out in a heavy sigh.

"It was necessary," Nabiki replied, before plopping down in the chair across from me. We were in a small office near the bridge, which functioned as an informal sitting room after I'd had the large desk removed and some chairs and a thick carpet put in its place.

"Tell me about it. These packets," I said, waving a datapad towards her, "full disclosure?"

"To a degree. Character Summaries were wiped, and irrelevant information was removed to avoid confusion, but for the most part, everyone out there who bothers to read through it all will know what happened... from Second Impact to Third," Nabiki stated.

"How's the housing situation look?" Makoto asked, finally speaking up. She had been looking over a second datapad, which wasn't quite ready for release yet. That one detailing the ships, the three of us, and the Imperial Forces the refugees would be living with from now on.

"Not so good. At first, we were considering making room on _The Nerve_, but looking it over, nobody would want to live in a barracks... at least not families. We can only do so much modification to a ship without dry-docking facilities," Nabiki explained, though the smirk on her face made it obvious she had something else in mind.

"So what do you suggest?" Makoto asked; the first to bite.

"Well, it wasn't just me, SHODAN helped... a lot," Nabiki replied, her smirk disappearing as her tone softened.

"Credit where credit is due, Admiral," SHODAN said, her voice mocking and condescending.

"In any case," Nabiki started, motioning towards a large wall-mounted display panel, "after looking over the ship configurations in our databanks, I came across a somewhat odd-looking ship that just might work, with some major changes to its interior."

"You mean to say you came across a ship that was big enough to house a town, and made vague suggestions that I had to puzzle out and apply while you patted yourself on the back?" SHODAN asked, as the screen flickered to life, showing what looked like a Star Destroyer with four large spheres imbedded within its main body.

"An Interdictor," I mumbled, half-remembering the descriptions from some of the later Star Wars novels. "I thought they were smaller, not Star-Destroyer-sized," I said with a frown.

The screen changed to display a similar-shaped ship, though a moment later, the much, _much_larger ship that had been on it before appeared beside it, giving the image a sense of scale.

"The smaller Interdictor Cruisers aren't big enough for such a population... while the Interdictor Star Destroyer is actually too large. Only with massive automation and redesigning can we make something usable of it... observe." SHODAN's voice cut off as the screen changed, and the Interdictor Destroyer's surface began to shift.

The four orbs imbedded in the superstructure were the most obvious changes, as the outer skin of durasteel was replaced by transparisteel windows geometrically framed and showing off a corpse of trees within one sphere, and an oceanic-surface within another. A third was arid and frozen, with gray and brown rocks poking out of layered snow, and finally, the fourth sphere had a grass-covered field.

The rest of the ship was generally smoother, though a number of small protuberances dotted the surface, and a series of larger ridges ran along the length of the ship.

"So, you want to replace the Gravity Well Generators with bio-spheres... and what's everything else on the surface?" I asked.

"The smaller bumps are shield generators and emitters. Using what we know of the Shield generators from the Wing Commander Universe, as well as standard Star Wars-type shields, we've set up a layered defense that would be hard pressed for the Lance of Longinus to pierce. Included are also empty spaces for future technologies to be implemented, if anything of use is discovered." SHODAN stated.

"And the ridges?"

"Weapons emplacements. The grouping makes them an easier target, but with the shields in place, an enemy could look all they wanted, but do little about it. Since this is to be primarily a civilian "home" the design was modified to focus on defense, though the weapon placement give it an excellent range of fire, in the event that it can't get away."

"And now explain the interior," Nabiki said, smirking.

The display changed again, the outer skin fading and layers of the ship disappeared before a pair of very wide corridors became visible, running along both sides of the ship. Starting back near the engines, a cross-corridor allowed obvious access to the Reactor core, and smaller passages allowed access to everything else in the stern of the ship. As the corridors moved forward, they passed through the center of all four spheres, before coming together in a large hollow at the fore end of the ship.

A large 'structure" sat at the very end, it's back side literally up against the bulkhead of the nose of the skip, and a rather impressive view of yet another park-like clearing that separated it from a layered structure that looked like the interior of an extra-large shopping mall.

"The corridors provide a means of travel, with cross-corridors every couple hundred meters where the structure allows, and built into those are hundreds of apartments and domiciles, with actual home-sized living spaces the further back you go. Between the corridors, both above and below the cross-corridors, are the Imperial stations and barracks, and only authorized personnel can cross from the massive civilian sector to the utilitarian Military section. The biggest Imperial presence will be on the Bridge, of course, but the head of government will be here," Nabiki pointed towards the structure overlooking the park in the nose of the ship "while commercial ventures will be located here," she pointed at the area across the park, where the tiered set of platforms overlooked the open park from the opposite side. "The entire population of Tokyo-3 will fit in here, with room to spare, and a number of unused spaces can be used as storage for the remainder of the fleet, or whatever else we come up with."

I nodded slowly, "That's... fine, I suppose... but what about those domes? Why the diverse settings? I can understand the field... and maybe the forest, for oxygen reclamation, but the ocean, and the icy-wasteland?"

Nabiki just smirked, "That's because I haven't explained the best part, yet."

Makoto frowned, "and what would that be?"

SHODAN spoke up again, "Observe," before the image zoomed in on the park outside the Administrative center at the head of the ship. Looking closely, I noticed the grass was actually cut into a pattern of sorts, one that was vaguely familiar.

"Oh... No way," Makoto said, suddenly. And just then I realized what I was looking at.

"You've got to be shitting me," I said, tearing my gaze away to stare at her.

Nabiki just smirked, and pulled out a sheet of paper that she'd had folded up in her pocket. "Sensors only recently gave me enough to work with. We're still out past Pluto, so everything's literally hours late, but with some enhancement, we've confirmed television and radio signals, as well as an odd electromagnetic distortion that seems to happen multiple times a second, seemingly at random."

Unfolding the paper slowly and methodically, I finally revealed the grainy, yet-recognizable image printed on the paper before turning to look at her with a weak smile.

"This is going to be a fun one to explain," Makoto mumbled, as Nabiki waited for me to say something.

Finally I shrugged. "Well, looks like we've got a ship to build." Pausing for a moment, I frowned in thought. "Also, we've got a devastated population to house, a doctor to rescue from within a biomechanical construct, the Asuka situation, battle damage to repair, construction to finish... and finally, an entirely new population to obtain." I smirked, before adding, "or, as they used to say, back home... 'Gotta catch 'em all.'"


	2. Chapter 1

As _The Nerve_ and _Jupiter's Thunder_ shrank in the rearward display, I turned my attention to the much larger forward display as the pilot counted down in preparation to entering Hyperspace. Despite our relative proximity to Earth, the ships were still out beyond Pluto's orbit, and a flight to Earth, even at maximum velocity in the Sentinel-class shuttle, would take hours. With a quick hop through Hyperspace however, we were already preparing to revert, appearing between Mars and Earth in around ten seconds.

Unlike my personal shuttle, which was more like a private yacht, this was a troop and equipment transport, and with the technology standards on most ships, it would work well enough in a reconnaissance role here.

Aside from myself, Makoto and Nabiki had elected to recon the planet, along with Rei and Shinji, while Dr. Akagi had asked Lieutenant Ibuki to accompany us, and Captain Mei had left her twins to man _The Nerve_ after a quick game of rock-paper-scissors to see who got to go.

Rei was in the cockpit with the pilot, already familiarizing herself with the systems aboard, while Shinji remained back with the rest of us in the transport area. Further back was a hastily-installed Holonet transceiver to communicate back to the ships outside the system in real-time, as well as a squad of Stormtroopers, though I didn't think we'd be seeing much of them.

As the shuttle slowed and entered a high-orbit, the screen changed to display the planet below, rapidly shifting from a standard map of the Earth to a planet far different than any visited before.

"Well... that's new," I mumbled as the continents became fully visible. Turning towards the entry to the cockpit, I called out, "can you show us lifesigns? And maybe a separate display of locations with a large amount of electromagnetic radiation?"

After a moment, the screen split, the two globes side-by-side, and one showed an abundance of life in most areas, with the highest concentrations correlating to areas the other image displayed as the most industrialization.

"Well, it's fairly obvious where the cities are," Nabiki said, while the displays constantly updated themselves as more and more data became available.

"They're bunched up, though," Lieutenant Ibuki said, frowning. "Look, they all seem to follow a pattern: one major city, seven to ten smaller cities, and then a lot of space between them and the next bunch."

"I don't know about that, but I recognize some of these landmasses. This area here looks like Hokkaido, and this one here looks like Kyushu," Nabiki pointed out.

"Yeah, and this whole section here, between those looks kind of like Chubu and Kanto," Makoto piped in.

Nabiki frowned, "They're a little off... and grossly oversized, but I can kind of see the waterline being appropriate. There's a lot of land missing, though."

I however, realized they'd mentioned something familiar in there. "What did you say this area looked like?" I asked Makoto.

"Chubu and Kanto," She replied.

I smirked, "Kanto was the region in the blue, red, and yellow games," I explained. "Which one is it, area wise?" I asked.

She pointed to an area on the map, and I frowned. "Without labels, it's hard to remember things perfectly, but... this town here should be Viridian City," I explained, tapping an area with increased EMR and lifesigns. "And this here is Cerulean," I said, pointing to another. "This mountain is Mount Moon, and here," I said, pointing to a long bridge extending out into the oversized harbor, "this is bicycle road... or something like that."

"Impressive," Nabiki said with a grin to let me know that wasn't how she really felt. Frowning at her for a second, I shrugged and backed away from the map. "It was a fun game. And fairly easy to remember certain things from. To the west is Johto, a region that shares their final four with Kanto. That was the Gold and Silver games."

"And Crystal," Makoto added with a grin.

"I only played Gold," I replied, turning to her. "Was Crystal like Yellow? A sort of late-addition version?"

She nodded, and I turned back to the map, "I only played Gold, so I suppose I missed it. Those two islands, though... they're new to me."

"I just told you-" Nabiki started, and I turned to cut her off with a frown.

"Game-wise, Nabiki; Game wise. I don't doubt what you said about their physical appearance, but I'm not sure about their layout. Or Pokémon."

Shinji, who'd been quietly listening to the conversation along with Mei and Ibuki, suddenly cut in, "You still haven't explained to us exactly _what_ Pokémon are."

"That's part of the reason we had you come along," Nabiki replied, factually. After a moment, she elaborated, "This world is fairly child-centric... at least from the anime and games. Or really, it's expressed in a way to engage children, from around ten or so, right on up to... well... people like Kyle here."

"Hey!" I complained, though I smiled to let her know I agreed.

"In any case," Makoto continued, "While Nabiki and I know of this world from our secondary memories, and Kyle from his primary memories, we all agree that you- or someone like you- with no experience in things, would be able to give a better explanation to everyone back on the ships."

"I think Dr. Akagi figured that out, which is why she sent you along, Ibuki," I added.

"I see... Command-" she trailed off as she realized she was addressing me incorrectly. "My Lord?" She hazarded a moment later. I winced as I realized I'd probably have to deal with that issue for a while, still.

"For now, Maya, call me Kyle, unless it's an emergency. In that case, or you feel you must address me by rank, then call me Commander, since you're already used to it." I glanced back at the map with a shrug. "We could have probably covered this earlier," I mumbled.

"I... understand, Commander." She hesitantly answered.

"In any case," Nabiki said, drawing everyone's attention again. "On this world, most children go off on a Pokémon journey around the age of 10, which varies in goals, depending on whether or not you play the game or watch the show..."

"What's a Pokémon journey?" Shinji asked.

"It's where you go live out in the wilds after being kicked out of your house by loving parents and replace all the friends you might have made with little animals that seem somewhat self-aware and are capable of using magic attacks like... something out of a video game," I answered with a grin.

"But... but... that's crazy!" Maya sputtered, obviously shocked.

"It's not nearly that bad," Nabiki interrupted, smiling slightly at my description. "There are definite dangers, but most children are prepared, and this world _is_ based on a game for kids, so the violence is minimal. The entire world is less dangerous than any of ours, no matter where you go. At least, that's what the anime and games depicted..." For a moment, Nabiki actually managed to look unsure, and I silently agreed with her.

It'd be pretty annoying if we found out that for every Ash, there were a dozen little Billys that never came home.

"I think we've collected as much data as we're going to get from this range... anyone have a preference on where we should land?" Makoto said, finally.

"I'd like to check out this island here, to the west; the one that looks like Kyushu. We can travel east and cover all," Nabiki paused to scan the city count closely, before nodding, "four regions in one trip."

I nodded, but stopped suddenly, grinning as an idea came to me, "Actually, what if we split up? I'm actually kind of curious to see it the other way around, East-to-west, since that's the way the games seem to have been going. We can work our way towards the middle here, between Johto and Kanto."

"And how are we supposed to keep in touch? Commlinks may be better than radios, but I know the they don't have _that_ much range," Nabiki stated, pointing at the distance on the map.

"Simple. After dropping us off, this ship can hide out here in the center, where we're going to meet up. Then it'll act as a booster to keep us in touch," Makoto offered.

"Not bad," I muttered, nodding her way, "I was thinking we'd just use the local communications. But this will work better, I'll bet. More privacy, if nothing else."

"So how are we going to split up?" Maya asked, looking between Nabiki and me as if judging us- which is probably exactly what she was doing.

"We'll take turns picking until we've gone down the list. I go first," I said.

"Why do you go first?" Nabiki asked, quirking a brow.

I shrugged, "Rank has its privileges?"

Makoto smirked, "If I wanted to be mean, I could say pearls before... well... Ryouga..."

Nabiki scowled, "With a glass of water, I could say 'Ladies first.'"

I rolled my eyes, "Then what would that make you? A little girl? Lets all try to act our ages here, before Shinji and Rei send us to our rooms."

"I wouldn't... wait, what?" Shinji asked, confused.

I rolled my eyes, but smiled. "Makoto."

"Shinji," Nabiki declared immediately after.

Quirking a brow, I gave her a sidelong glance, "something you're not telling us?"

The middle Tendo just rolled her eyes and waved her hand at me dismissively. "Just choose."

Sighing dramatically, I whined, "sure, ruin all my fun, why don't you?" Before straightening up, and glancing around, before pausing to look at the cockpit door. "Rei."

"Oh? Now who's got something to hide?" Nabiki asked. "Ibuki."

"I thought you, of all people, would understand the need for someone young enough to be on a Pokémon journey to be in each group." I shrugged. I was about to say "Mei," when suddenly there was a blinding flash of light and the entire shuttle shuddered beneath us and the lights went out.

"What the hell?" I asked, as I drifted off the floor. Artificial gravity was gone, too.

"Where the hell am I?" A new voice asked, surprising everyone. While everyone else began asking who was there, I frowned; that voice was new, but definitely familiar.

Before I could say anything, however, the entry to the cockpit cracked open a hair, and Rei's voice, emotionless despite the current situation called back, "Power will be returning shortly. We experienced a localized, unknown electromagnetic event which forced a shutdown of most systems."

"Who's there?" The voice asked again, and I frowned. There was no way...

"Ranma?" Nabiki asked, a moment before I felt gravity start back up, bringing me gently to the floor as it ramped up to its full power.

The lights turned on a moment later, and I spun to where I'd heard the voice last. And there, indeed, stood Ranma Saotome, looking more confused with our surroundings than with us.

"How the hell did _you_ get here?" Nabiki asked, climbing to her feet. Everyone else did as well, while Ranma finished his examination of the ship and turned back towards us.

"Well, you see... remember how I asked if I could come with you, and then decided not to?" He asked.

I frowned, having to think back before vaguely recalling that having happened.

When I nodded, he continued, "Well... after you left, I thought about it some more, and realized that if Nabiki were going, then she obviously thought she had a way back... and Nabiki's not likely to do anything without having thought it out better than I could, so I figured I made a mistake..."

"Eloquent as ever, Ranma," Nabiki stated dryly. "And yet almost intelligent," she muttered under her breath.

Ranma frowned, "I don't... look, that's not all. After you left, for a while your dad was ecstatic, thinking you'd run off with Kyle and eloped... and then a week later, all your stuff just disappeared!"

"The re-write!" Makoto exclaimed.

Ranma just shrugged. "Whatever it was, almost everyone was hit by it, though I think the old ghoul still remembered."

"Err... Ranma, we all talked about this in front of you, remember? That's how Kyle and Makoto got their jobs at Furinkan... and how... I... err..." Nabiki trailed off suddenly, frowning.

"How you got engaged to my husband?" Makoto asked, smiling.

"What!?" Maya and Shinji shouted.

I winced, "Not so loud, please."

Ranma, who'd been looking about as introspective as he could be, just shrugged, "I suppose so. I kind of assumed you just beat up the principal for the job. And I try to avoid anything that has to do with engagements, since... well... you know how _mine_ are," he added quietly.

Makoto, Nabiki and I all nodded.

"No." Shinji said, gaining Ranma's attention.

"Hey! Who's this.. who are they?" he asked, shifting his point from Shinji to waving his finger back and forth between him and Maya. Then he looked cover at Mei. "And who... err.. what?... umm..." He trailed off, and I smirked as Mei buried her face in her hands.

"Ranma, meet Shinji Ikari, Maya Ibuki, and Mei... umm... " I trailed off myself as I realized Mei didn't seem like a complete introduction. Turning to her, I raised an eyebrow. "You wouldn't happen to have a last name chosen, would you?"

Mei just shrugged, "We never really saw much of a need for one. I _suppose_, since we're almost sisters, 'Ayanami' would work... though we're far more used to answering to our given names."

I nodded, "Mei, then. No point in adding more confusion if the three of you are together." Turning back towards Ranma, I waved my hand towards her, "and this is Mei. Just Mei."

Ranma stared at her for a moment, before nodding, "Okay."

Turning to Shinji and Maya, I pointed over my shoulder at Ranma, "This is Ranma Saotome, a powerful martial artist, and... umm..." I paused, wondering what else described him.

"He has a curse kind of like Kyle's, though he can control it, and it's just a girl, and he's engaged to my little sister through an arrangement made by our parents before we were born," Nabiki contributed with a smirk.

"Hey! They didn't have to know about... about..." he suddenly turned to look at me. "You've got a curse?"

I winced, "Yeah, picked it up a few days after we left. Permanent, incurable, vaguely helpful at times..."

Ranma nodded, "Girl?"

"Angel; female. You wouldn't be able to tell the difference unless you got me upset," I explained. Ranma just nodded sagely, as if understanding.

"You... have a curse too?" Maya asked hesitantly.

"It's not exactly something I'm proud of," Ranma growled.

"Oh, relax, Saotome, at least you don't have to worry about cold water anymore," Nabiki replied.

"No? I have control of the change, but water still hits me out of the blue, all the time."

I winced. "Well, at least you have control."

"Do I?" Ranma asked, though he was looking down as he spoke. "I was so used to turning with cold water I still change when hit... I've just grown to expect it, I guess. Only after it happens do I really think about it. Then I have to run off and pretend I found some hot water."

"Sounds complicated," Makoto offered, sounding sympathetic.

Ranma just nodded.

"How did you appear like that?" Shinji asked, finally.

Ranma looked up at him for a moment, before turning his gaze to the screen which was back to displaying the two copies of the globe spinning below us. "Umm... first off, where are we?"

"Orbiting earth in a spaceship preparing to land," Nabiki explained.

"He's on my team," I suddenly stated, loudly.

"Wha- No! You and Makoto are more than enough!" Nabiki replied hotly.

I shook my head. "Too late! You have Maya, Mei, and Shinji. I have Makoto, Ranma, and Rei."

"But..." Nabiki started, before I cut her off.

"What are you so worried about? This is Pokémon, not Nerima. Ranma's an overpowered liability, not an asset," I explained.

"Hey! I'm right here, you know!" Ranma yelled.

"Shut-up Ranma," Makoto, Nabiki and I all said at once. He fell back into a chair as Nabiki replied, "That may be true if this is like the games or show, but if it's not, I don't think it's fair to horde all the Martial Arts users on one team. If not Ranma, give me Makoto or Rei."

I frowned. "If you take Rei, then I'd need Shinji."

Nabiki smirked, "Take Mei."

"Dowha?" I asked, frowning. Before I could explain things to her again, she continued.

"Mei may be a ship's Captain, but remember, she still _looks _fourteen, even if she's older, mentally," Nabiki argued.

I winced, before looking between Makoto and Mei, "I kind of.. err.. no offense, Mei, but I already have one... if you know what I mean," I said, earning a slight glare from the clone, while Makoto rolled her eyes and stepped away from me.

"Then give me Makoto. You and Ranma, Rei and Makoto; two per team." Nabiki said.

"I'm short a person, and you're up one that way," I replied.

Nabiki rolled her eyes and looked everyone over once, before returning her gaze to me. "Take Shinji, then: you, Ranma, Shinji, and Mei; Makoto, Maya, Rei, and Me."

I blinked, thinking it over in my head. Finally, I turned to Makoto. "Would... err.. that be alright with you?" I asked.

My wife just rolled her eyes and went over to stand beside Nabiki. At the Tendo's smirk, however, she narrowed her gaze. "It's fine. Any more stupid arguments, however, and I'm going to stay with the ship."

"At least someone's thinking straight," Mei muttered. Makoto smiled in her direction a little, and Mei nodded back before looking at me. "So, since we got first pick, does that mean Nabiki's team gets to kick first?"

I blinked, before those who understood started chuckling. "Cute," I muttered, when the laugh was dying down.

"... what just happened?" Ranma asked.

Shinji shook his head," I think we were insulted, but I'm not sure where, exactly... which reminds me... _Now_ will you tell us how you got here?"

Ranma suddenly straightened up. "Oh yeah!"

"Yes?" I asked.

"I was trying to figure out why nobody remembered you all, and then I found that lamp," he explained.

"The one that grants wishes?" Nabiki asked, leaning forward suddenly.

"No, the one I had on my bedside table," I replied sarcastically.

"We... didn't have a bedside table," Makoto said.

"ANYWAY," Shinji said, glaring at us all. Properly cowed, we turned back to Ranma.

"Yeah, the one from before. The guy inside didn't remember me, but when I asked for him to cure the curse for good, he said his magic was already on my curse, and he couldn't."

"Wow. That sucks," I said, smiling.

"Yes. Yes it does." Ranma replied with a glare. "Anyway, when he asked me how that happened, I explained what had happened to him, and he shrugged and told me to go ahead and try another wish."

"What'd you wish for?" Nabiki asked, leaning forward again.

"I was just getting to that," Ranma growled, before turning his gaze back to the ceiling. "I thought about wishing for something that would give me a cure to my curse, but then I remembered the way you managed to beat Taro and the Letch, and thought about wishing for a map that would lead me to a cure, or something like that."

"That's... actually a pretty smart idea," Makoto said, blinking. Nabiki's eyes were wide, but she managed to nod.

"So what happened?" Shinji asked.

"My pops threw open the door and demanded I cure _his_ curse. Then Ryouga showed up, and, well... you know."

Makoto, Nabiki and I winced, Mei merely nodded sadly, while Maya and Shinji looked confused. "No. What hat happened?"

Ranma collapsed back into the chair behind him. "The idiot tried to grab it, there was a fight... the usual."

"So... how did you get here." I asked.

"Ranma looked at me, then shrugged, "Oh. Ryouga started talking about how he'd seen hell because of me, and my old man was growling at me because he'd gotten wet, and I _think_ Mousse was there, because I had to dodge some weapons... but it was Akane who kind of set me off. She started yelling at me to leave pig-boy alone, and I shouted back that I wish she understood what was going on..."

There was a loud noise as Makoto, Mei, Nabiki and I all drew back with a pained hiss at that. Noticing Maya and Shinji's confused looks, I told them we'd explain later, before turning back to Ranma. "So what happened?"

"Well... it was weird. Everyone froze as the guy in the lamp appeared and told me my wish was granted, but then Akane got mad and started attacking me again, screaming that I was supposed to get beat up because the fans demanded it or something." He paused, before shrugging. "I don't know, she wasn't making much sense the rest of the fight."

I closed my mouth, unaware as to when, exactly it had fallen open, then asked, "So... how did you get here?"

"Well, after the fight, I realized there wasn't much of a reason not to find you all... Akane told me that I'd never find a cure for my curse on this... that... err... _my_ world, and oddly enough, it made sense in a weird kind of way. At least, nothing _I'd_ ever found seemed to work."

"So you decided to come here," I finished.

Ranma nodded. "Yeah, The lamp-guy said I had two more wishes, so I wished for a gate here, and said I'd save the last one for a way back..." Ranma blinked, then looked around. "Hey! Where'd it go!?" Jumping to his feet, he began frantically searching the cabin of the shuttle, pushing people out of his way as he began crawling all over the floor.

"We're beginning our descent," Rei's voice rang out over the intercom.

"There's been a slight change of plans, Rei," I started, before she cut me off.

"I heard everything, Commander. We're headed to the drop-off point for your team first, then Nabiki's. Please inform us what temporary rank you're assigning Mr. Saotome so the Stormtroopers and officers know how to treat him." The intercom clicked off, and I blinked in surprise at the speaker, before turning to look back at the Martial artists still crawling across the floor.

With a sighed, I buried my face in my hand. "Well Ranma... welcome to the crew."

Author's notes: Another start! And Ranma's back, how about that?

Seriously, though. Bringing Ranma back has always been part of the plan, I just had to find a way to do it that was acceptably humorous, and sensible and... well.. not right in the middle of the War with the Angels. Now seemed like the best time to do it, though, at the onset of a new adventure, and so, here he is, back to add his own type of chaos into the melting pot of this fic.

On the flip side, there's the Universe I've chosen to arrive in... I realize it's a massive shift in gears from Evangelion, but Pokémon, along with a few others, is one of the few series I knew would be included from the moment I realized I'd continue past the first NASIF.

With that said, however, I'd like to admit that I was slightly worried as to how I should portray certain things. Do I follow the games or the anime or find a balance between both? Do I go with the English Pokémon names, or the Japanese, or should I mix and match? Which characters from the games should I introduce? How about he anime? ... and so on and so forth. Since then, I've gone with, I suppose, the middle-of-the road approach, which is what most Pokémon fics tend to do. Shocking! I worried myself into a fit before following the crowd.

While this is getting kind of long, I also need to point two more things out before I close this up. First off, I'm not to keen or re-telling things a number of times, as you've probably already noticed. As such, while I try to make sure everything is sensible, if I refer to a past event from an earlier NASIF part, then I'll probably gloss over it... so if you're just now joining, you might want to start back at 1. I promise it gets better. After all, that's why you're here, right?

Finally, I've pretty much finalized the list of places to go. That does not mean I've finalized the list of things to do. I know what I want to have by NASIF 13, but what happens in NASIF 5-12 is still malleable. Some things are set into stone as guidelines, but the rest is still in development. This means that chapters should start coming out a little faster, since there's now a path to the end.

Oh yeah, chapter 2 is already written, just needs pre-reading. So expect it up... very soon.

Of course, if I slack, then all timelines are out the window, but it's a new year, and resolution #1 was to write more, so it shouldn't be as bad as my last dry year. Once again, I'd like to thank my pre-reader Nate, and say that, without him and the others, my fics would all be horrible collections of words that don't really go well together.


	3. Chapter 2

As the ramp hit the dirt with a dull thud, I turned to Ranma, who was staring at the field outside with obvious disdain. I'd spent the rest of our little trip down explaining what had happened since leaving, and now he was about as caught up on things as anyone could be.

"So tell me again what happened?"

... Or not...

I sighed, and pushed him down the ramp, Shinji and Mei following along, and a moment after our feet hit the grass, the shuttle rose on its repulsorlifts, gaining some distance before its engines engaged and it took off towards the east.

"You know, one would think you would have paid attention better, considering how much catching up you'll need to do," Mei stated.

"It's dark," Shinji said when Ranma didn't respond. Indeed it was. The map hadn't bothered displaying times, but it was apparently just after sundown here, as the sky to the west (where a pinprick of light that was the shuttle could be seen) was lighter than the rest, but only barely.

Looking down at the packs SHODAN had created for us (and one salvaged from the Stormtroopers' supplies for Ranma) I wondered briefly if we were really prepared for this. I'd been camping before, and Ranma had lived on the road for years, but Shinji didn't strike me as having done much more than look at the trees in the park.

Glancing at Mei, I winced. As far as hands-on experience with the outdoors went, if Shinji had seen trees in the park, that was still light years ahead of the clone who spent her entire life in a tank of LCL before I set her and all the others free.

"So, what's the plan, Sir?" Mei asked, breaking the silence.

"Well, we need to establish ourselves, I think. We have backpacks with supplies and some gold, so money shouldn't be a problem, and unlike Nabiki and Makoto..." I trailed off in thought before adding, "_and_ Maya, almost everyone in our group looks like a teenager. I can either play chaperone, or get some water and see if I can fake looking old for my age."

Mei shrugged. "That might work, but I doubt you can just walk into a store with gold and buy an ID."

I smirked. "On the contrary, Pokémon games all have nuggets, small chunks of gold that trainers can find and sell to stores for money. We'll just have to be careful in how much we exchange at a time, but we should have a very impressive amount of local currency in short order."

Shinji looked confused. "What about those Pokédex things you mentioned?"

I frowned. "Those... I'm still kind of working on."

"So where are the Pokémon?" Ranma asked.

I turned to look at him and shrugged. "Behind you."

Ranma jumped and landed facing the opposite direction, while Mei and Shinji spun in place, as the knee-high grass we'd been standing in shuddered against the wind. The disturbance drew closer, until suddenly a furry head popped up above the grass, its crème-colored face surrounded by brown fur. It looked kind of like a giant squirrel.

"A Furret," I mumbled, recognizing the species from the Gold game. Unlike the anime, however, the creature didn't say its name in a cutesy little voice, but instead chirruped at us, like you'd expect an unusually large rodent to do.

"It looks like a big rodent," Shinji said with a frown.

I nodded, turning back to look at the field. "Most Pokémon are based on animals or mythical creatures from Earth. If you really want to see a rodent-like Pokémon, we'll have to hunt down a Ratatta."

"A what?" Ranma asked, finally tearing his gaze from the creature.

"A Ratatta. Or a Raticate, it's evolved form. Looks like what its name sounds like: a big rat," I answered, finally deciding on a direction. "You all coming?"

"Do you know which way we're going?" Mei asked, from where she had slowly been creeping closer to the Furret. Watching her, I frowned, scanning the nearby grass before nodding. "East, it looks like. There's a city that way, I think... Ranma?" I asked, hoping he'd clarify.

"Huh?" He asked, turning away from watching Mei's attempt at stalking. Twisting to follow my gaze, he nodded. "Yeah, there's lights over that way. Something bright, most likely a city," he agreed.

Mei had managed to get fairly close, before Shinji asked her, "What are you doing?"

The Furret, which had been watching her carefully, glanced at him before turning around and darting off into the grass again. As it disappeared, its long striped tail became visible for a second, before it too disappeared into the grass.

"At least it didn't attack, like in the games," I mumbled, as Mei glared at Shinji. Shinji looked slightly ashamed, but turned when I cleared my throat. "There are hundreds of Furrets, and other kinds of Pokémon out there. Trust me when I say we'll be seeing plenty of them soon enough."

Mei looked slightly ashamed, and Shinji glanced back at where the Furret had been before making his way over to one of the packs. Ranma didn't bother examining his, merely shrugging and pulling it on as if it didn't weigh a thing, which earned him stares from Mei and Shinji, while I pulled mine on with only a frown.

"Okay, we're going to be traveling fairly slowly, since I don't think we're all capable of long hikes with heavy packs-" I started.

"I am!" Ranma interjected, interrupting me.

I frowned. "Then how would you like to carry everyone's things?" I asked, darkly.

Realizing that might actually be a little difficult, he frowned, but didn't say anything else, and I smirked slightly, before turning east. "It's going to be a pretty lengthy walk, I'd imagine, so lets get started, and find a good pace we can all keep."

The others nodded, and we took off, crossing the field slowly as everyone got used to the weight of their packs.

As we started, I noticed a number of things that hadn't been apparent in the anime. There were real bugs, like gnats and flies, though they were harder to notice in the dark if you didn't run into them, and I wondered if there were ants and other scavengers that kept a planet looking clean and without dead bodies.

After a few minutes, we came to the edge of the field, and to the edge of a more imposing forest. Beyond, the sky was glowing with the reflected light of a city or other well-lit area, and I wondered if we could weave through the trees in the dark, or if we should look for a path through or wait for dawn.

"That's not going to be easy to navigate in the dark," Mei said, as she eyed the forest critically.

"There's something in there," Ranma said, suddenly. He bent down, never taking his eyes off the tree line, before picking up a few pebbles.

I winced. "Ranma, trust me, most pokémon are harmless... let's not pick a fight with any of them so soon."

Ranma shrugged, but didn't drop the pebbles, and after a moment of silence, I stepped into the woods, the others following behind me.

"It's _very_ dark in here," Shinji said, a moment before I paused and pulled a small lamp from my pack. Because it was from the ship, I doubted it would run out of power anytime soon, but when Mei and Shinji started to go for theirs as well, I waved them off. "Best share it, in case they have a limited lifespan."

Suddenly, there was a rustle of feathers, and something plucked the light out of my hand and took off with it. Before I could do more than yell, however, Ranma had started flinging his pebbles with unerring accuracy, the small lamp falling free as one of the small stones knocked it out of the bird's grip, and another hit the creature itself.

With a squawk, the dark-colored bird swerved into a tree and fell to the ground in a dazed heap, while I rushed over to snag the fallen lam and grip it a bit tighter than before.

"Okay, so they're not all aggressive, but some are kleptomaniacs," I growled, approaching the figure as it flopped around at the base of a tree.

As the light got near enough to penetrate the darkness of the forest and illuminate the fallen thief, features became visible, and I hummed to myself as I vaguely recognized it, though not enough to remember its name.

"Is that bird wearing a _hat_?" Mei asked, incredulously.

Ranma stepped closer and appraised it, before frowning. "What's up with its tail? It looks like a feather duster."

"Or a broom." I smirked, straightening up as the bird eyed us warily. I couldn't recall its name, but it was another Gold/Silver pokémon. Which was odd. I was sure this wasn't Johto, so either pokémon moved around a lot, or maybe there were no new ones.

The bird, apparently realizing we weren't going to do anything more than stare at it, cawed at us, before taking to the sky again, its eyes taking one last, longing glance at the lamp in my hand before it disappeared into the shadows above us.

"Well, that was interesting," Mei mumbled, as we turned to continue on our way.

"Are all pokémon like that?" Shinji asked.

"Like what?" I replied, stepping around a large fallen log that loomed out of the shadows.

"Like oversized replicas of normal animals," he elaborated.

I shrugged. "The ones that are more animalistic are, I suppose." I paused to think about it, before nodding. "Actually, now that you mention it, yeah, I suppose a lot of them are. The quadrupeds are usually based on an animal, but only relate in size to larger examples of what we could find in a more normal world."

"You mean a dog pokémon would more likely be the size of, say, a German Shepard, than a poodle or terrier?" Mei asked.

I nodded. "Yeah. But remember, there are also ones based on legends... like the bird trio. Those were fairly huge in the anime. Taller than a person, for sure. And don't let their sizes fool you, there's some sort of magic here that waltzes all over physics. A bird as small as that one back there is perfectly capable of learning Fly in the game, which means it can carry its trainer to any pokécenter they've visited before... despite the apparent impossibility of a one-foot-tall bird carrying a ten-year-old person."

"But that was in the game," Shinji said, looking up at the trees warily, as if something might swoop down and take him away. "Can that happen here?"

I shook my head, "That's the thing; I don't really know. We'll learn more once we reach civilization, and I can see what correlates to my memories and what doesn't, but for the most part, this is a reconnaissance trip, so we're all here to learn what we can."

"Muuu..." someone said from behind me. I frowned, about to tell Mei to knock it off, when I realized that hadn't been her voice.

"What the...?" I asked, spinning around. Behind me, Shinji, Mei and Ranma stood frozen as a small glowing purple pokémon hovered behind me.

"A Misdreavus!" I said, smiling. The ghost pokémon smiled, before repeating what it said earlier. "Muuu... muma..."

I blinked. It wasn't saying its name, but it wasn't making random animal noises, either.

"Is... is that a ghost?" Ranma asked, finally.

"It's a ghost-type pokémon. I had one in the game. It doesn't evolve like Ghastly, but was better looking than the ball of gas I caught in yellow."

The Misdreavus to watch us, occasionally saying 'mu' or 'ma' or variations thereof, while I continued to explain; "It's... hmm... I can't remember what its title is, but basically, it's just another of the hundreds of different types."

"Can it hurt us?" Shinji asked, his eyes wide as he watched the pokémon.

"If it really wanted to? I suppose, maybe. But we're not exactly a threat to it. I think it's just curious," I said, turning to continue on.

Behind me, I heard the Misdreavus 'speak' a little more, before the others slowly gave it a wide birth and followed me. A couple dozen steps more, however, and a second misdreavus appeared from a tree ahead of me. Turning to make sure this was a different one, I spotted a few soft purple glows, both back the way we came as well as all around us, and shrugged. Apparently, this forest was filled with the ghosts.

Unlike the friendly one we first met, however, this new misdreavus hissed at us, its ephemeral vocal chords giving the sound an ominous and otherworldly echo.

"Oookay... and now I think we've found a less than friendly one. Let's go... back..." I trailed off as an utterly unknown pokémon dropped behind Mei and Shinji, who were still staring at the hissing Misdreavus in shock.

Ranma, however, had spotted it as well. "What the hell is _THAT_?"

"I have no clue," I replied, holding still. I doubted it would lose sight of me or anything, especially with the lamp I was carrying, but I wasn't about to give it any reason to attack. It wasn't much larger than a Misdreavus, but instead of a floating head and blob-like body, this one had a ghostly purple witch's hat (or something like it) on, as well as a dress-like torso with three red jewels stuck in its chest. Probably the most disconcerting thing, however, was that it utterly lacked limbs; the torso armless, and the pink-hemmed 'dress' devoid of legs or feet.

Mei and Shinji, by this point, had turned and spotted it, and quickly made their way over to where Ranma and I stood.

"Not to sound like I'm giving you orders or anything, sir, but maybe you could change, so if they do turn out to be hostile, you at least have some defense against... whatever kind of attacks it might try," Mei added, hesitantly.

I nodded, reaching back for the small canteen in a side pocket. Around us, the glows I had spotted before grew larger, as dozens of Misdreavus' appeared from the woods around us, occasional utterances doing nothing to calm us.

As I started to uncap the canteen, the new pokémon started to speak, but unlike the others, its voice was garbled and full of syllables; far too many to be made up of portions of its name.

"What's it doing?" Shinji whispered.

Suddenly, as it chanted, one of the Misdreavus' behind us shrieked, its harsh voice drawing our attention, and as we turned our backs, another shrieked, making us spin again.

"What are _they_ doing?" Ranma asked with concern, his pack on the ground beside him while he slipped into an obvious fighting stance.

"I don't know!" I shouted, finally getting the lid of the canteen. "Be prepared to move quick if they attack, I'll provide cover," I explained, before tipping the container over on my head as another one of the ghosts screeched.

Shrugging as my pack and clothes loosened with the change, I prepared to summon my AT-Field if anything made a threatening move towards me. Instead, the screeching and chanting suddenly stopped, and most of the Misdreavus' turned to look at the larger ghost almost questioningly.

"Muuu?" one asked.

The ghost responded immediately, sounding about as distressed as we were feeling, and I smirked. "Bet that confused them," I said quietly.

"You don't look much like your other form," Ranma said, as the ghost pokémon started to converse quietly.

"Spring of drowned angel, remember?" I asked, frowning.

"You know your eyes are red, like hers," Ranma mentioned offhand, pointing over his shoulder at Mei with his thumb.

I blinked, "What exactly are you bringing that up for _now_?" I hissed back, frowning.

Ranma shrugged, then turned to look at the ghosts for a second. "I think we can get away if we're quick."

"That's the trick, isn't it?" Mei grumbled, darkly.

Looking at Shinji, who wasn't quite cowering, but looked decidedly uneasy, I nodded. "Ranma, take Shinji's bag and go, Shinji, follow Ranma. Mei and I will give you a head start."

"_Me_?!" Mei whispered harshly.

I turned to look at her fully. "You're a clone of Rei, right? You should have everything you need to do everything Rei could; which means an AT-Field and flight."

Mei scowled. "Well, unlike you and Rei, _we_ never really had time to train on that, spending most of our time learning everything there was to know about Imperial technology and the military!"

I sighed. "Fine. You help Shinji or Ranma, whoever needs it, while I hold this group off. If we get far enough from their territory, we should be okay."

Everyone nodded at that, and Ranma tensed to move, before stopping. "How big is their territory?"

I frowned at him, "Just get ready to go. I'll catch up with you later." When everyone nodded, I looked back at the ghosts, who were now huddled around the larger one in conversation. "Go!"

Ranma was a blur, and Shinji stumbled as his pack disappeared from his back, a moment before Ranma appeared on the edge of the clearing with a backpack in each hand. "Come on!"

Shinji took off then, with Mei following closely behind. The pokémon, ignorant up until my shout, suddenly flew forward, some trying to catch the runners, while others came for me.

With a smirk, I waved my hand, and a number of the Misdreavus' crashed into an invisible barrier, ending their chase of the others momentarily. As they started to batter themselves against it, the ones coming towards me stopped as I started to rise in the air.

Only having done it once before, I had initially feared that I'd not be able to do it again, but considering how dire the situation had been at the time, and my state of mind, It was hard _not_ to recall what had happened, and once you got the hang of it, flying was actually pretty easy.

There was an uncomfortable feeling from behind me, and I stole a glance over my shoulder to see that the two tentacles of light had fully materialized, both ephemerally emerging through the backpack and waving around in the air behind me as if caught in a current of water.

The misdreavuses had begun to back away from me at this point, and I smirked. "That's right, who's scaring who now?"

The smaller ghosts paused as the larger started warbling quietly, and I frowned as they moved further away from me. Suddenly, the larger ghost started glowing, and a ball of sickly purple light appeared in front of it.

With another wave of my hand, I brought my AT-Field up between us, and the purple ball shooting towards me detonated against my AT-Field with enough strength for the orange concentric hexagons of its reaction to briefly become visible.

"Nice try," I mumbled, before rising a little higher. The ghosts all started to follow me, keeping their distance, and I shrugged, before blocking another purple ball, and slipping into the branches overhead. A couple seconds later, I emerged above the forest, and found myself surrounded by Misdreavus' in a large circle, while facing off against the larger ghost, who was also within the circle.

"So, it's a match you want, then, I take it?" I asked, as we stared at each other. The ghost watched me for a moment before nodding.

I shrugged apologetically. "I don't have any pokémon on me."

The ghost didn't seem to understand. Or maybe it just didn't care. With a warble that sounded like much like the Misdreavus' "muma," it shot another ball of dark light at me, which I didn't even bother summoning my AT-Field for, slipping to the side and letting it pass by me harmlessly.

Shrugging, I pulled my pack off and held it in one hand, before dropping down and setting it on one of the thicker branches of a tree. A moment later I was rising back up into the circle, my tendril-wings now free. Without the densely packed backpack for them to phase through, I was no longer limiting my concentration due to discomfort, and I wondered briefly how far Mei, Ranma, and Shinji had gotten.

Another energy ball passed by me, this one poorly aimed, and I realized I wasn't really going to be able to ponder things while this ghost tried its best to defeat me. Sighing, I glanced up at it, and smiled, before accelerating towards it at high speed.

The pokémon babbled something in shock as it tried to get out of my way, but I changed my vector slightly, and brought out a smaller AT-Field at the palm of my hand that smacked it upside the head as I passed it by.

The Ghost wobbled slightly, but didn't fall back to the ground as I slowed and turned to watch it, and a moment later it had turned and was glaring at me angrily. "Mumage," it said, clearly.

"Is that what you are?" I asked quietly, before frowning as its eyes started to glow. There was a sudden burst of light, and my vision swam as I suddenly heard voices talking all around me. Right before I started to panic, however, I remembered experiencing something similar, and summoned my AT-Field at full power, cutting off the psychic assault. It was obviously just as a surprise to the ghost, whose eyes stopped glowing almost as quickly as my AT-Field had appeared.

"Maaaa!" one of the Misdreavus' shouted from the sidelines, the rest joining in a moment later. Surrounded by shouting ghosts, I frowned, before concentrating on the tendrils of light my wings had become, which stopped their mindless flowing and circled around and over my shoulders to point at my opponent threateningly.

The cheers died down at this change, and I smirked, before moving in, getting close enough for one to lash out at the ghost as it suddenly tried to put some distance between us. With a thought, the left tendril reached out, the right one shrinking in size to lend its length to the other, and wrapped around the pokémon's neck, though not enough to induce choking in case the ghost actually needed to breathe.

Eyes wide, the ghost pulled against the restraint ferociously, the right tendril disappearing entirely as it put as much distance between us as it could, before it could get no farther. Smirking, I concentrated, and slowly started pulling it closer.

However, when it got about halfway, the pokémon suddenly changed course, flying directly at me, surprising me enough that the point-blank black-sphere went unblocked as I tried to get my own distance. Instantly, the night sky, previously illuminated by the stars and fading glow of sunset, went pitch black, and I felt an invasive, otherworldly sense of fatigue leech into my limbs, sapping my strength and giving me a splitting headache.

Slowly the darkness around me dissipated, and I looked up at the ghost wearily, my position in the air having dropped a good dozen feet or so, and my wings having gone back to waving serenely behind me.

"An impressive shot," I mumbled, trying to shake off the lassitude the attack had driven into me. Knowing it was artificially induced may have made the feeling more obvious than true fatigue, but being more noticeable in this case wasn't helping. I needed to end this, before another attack like that left me unconscious 50 feet or so above the ground.

Unfortunately, I'd already burned through my moves. With the sudden onset of fatigue, I wasn't as fast as before, no longer able to catch the ghost with a slap from my AT-Field, and while a couple whips from my wings got through, they were woefully weak, doing little more than pushing the ghost around some.

Around me, the circle had closed in, the various Misdreavus' having sensed an end to the fight and moving in. Hopefully not for the kill. Some of them were shouting happily now, but others were saying things quickly, so that it almost sounded like they were laughing.

I scowled. I wasn't some pokémon, I was human! Or an angel, really, but still! I didn't have to fight by their rules, and if they thought I did, well, that was their problem, wasn't it? With humiliation-induced strength, I suddenly lunged, catching the ghost by surprise and wrapping my right tendril around it before it could dodge. This time, when it tried to shoot me with its ball of darkness attack, the attack impacted with an AT-Field, a moment before the tendril yanked the ghost into the same field, smashing it against the AT-Field harshly. Then it impacted again, and again, as I repeatedly drove it into the wall of my soul.

Without any visible indicator to tell me that it was done for, I stopped bashing it against the AT-Field after giving it a thrashing I felt was at least as damaging as the attack on me had been, a moment before I released it, dropping the field as well.

"Muuu... muuuu maaaaageee..." it mumbled, looking confused and tired as it wavered in the air uncertainly. Seeing its otherwise pristine condition, I decided to wrap this fight up, feeling somewhat close to passing out myself. With an inarticulate shout, I accelerated at the ghost pokémon as fast as I could, fist held out before me like a javelin as I quickly closed the distance between us. The pokémon's eyes widened comically as it realized what was about to come, but aside from that, it didn't even try to dodge, and my AT-Field, projected just ahead of my fist and just as small, caught it right in the center of its chest, sending it flying back, out of the circle of Misdreavus' and down into the trees as it arced under the pull of gravity.

"Hah! Maybe next time you'll think before attacking a random human!" I shouted after it.

Around me, the ghostly spectators had gathered into a group, their quiet whispers and furtive glances at me often accompanying a harsher glare at one of the others that floated off to the side of their huddle, looking between me and the treetops where the ghost I'd defeated had fallen in obvious shock.

Thinking now was as good a time as any to leave, I silently dropped down to where I'd set my pack, slipping it on before taking off towards the east, where the glow from the town was now the only light on the horizon.

After traveling a ways, I dropped to the ground, the forest even darker than before, as I pulled my lamp back out. I could have flown to the town, but if I passed the others, they might get worried and spend all day looking for me, instead of heading into town.

In the darkness, it was hard to find signs of their passing, and having not spent much time learning the relevant skills, it was almost a half our of zigzagging through the woods before I spotted a batch of foot prints in some soil, the flat bottoms of Ranma's sandals next to the tread of Shinji's tennis shoes and thicker tread of Mei's boots.

Sighing in relief, and looking up at the indigo sky peeking between the leaves of the trees overhead, I took off in the direction their footprints indicated they were heading, feeling surprisingly energetic.

As I climbed over a large fallen tree, I realized that my lethargy wasn't _really_ real, it had been that ghosts' attack that made me feel so bad. So maybe its effect was wearing off? As my search continued, however, I found myself still fairly tired, despite the passing minutes giving me time to heal. Apparently then, not _all_ the fatigue was false. Fortunately, as I came to that realization, I heard a shout of surprise ahead.

Picking up speed, I finally caught up with the others, who looked about as tired as I felt.

"Kyle!"

"You made it!"

"How'd the fight go?"

Everyone turned to look at Ranma with a frown.

"What? It's a valid question. Not like you weren't thinking it!" He objected.

"It was fine... and vaguely annoying... and I'm kind of tired, now, so let's get into town and find ourselves a place to rest, okay?" I grumbled.

Ranma looked confused. "Why keep going? We have sleeping bags, and it looks like it's going to be a nice night. We could set up a camp nearby. Shinji even found us breakfast for tomorrow!"

"Hey!" Shinji shouted, "I said we can't! Not until we know what it is."

What are you two talking about," I asked, tiredly.

Mei sighed. "Shinji found an egg. It's in his bag. Ranma wanted to eat it, but Shinji wanted you to look at it, first."

I nodded. "Was it big? Like... bigger than a chicken egg, and spotted?"

Shinji shrugged, pulling his pack off and reaching inside to pull a brown egg with cream colored spots out. I nodded. It was definitely a pokémon egg, far larger than any chicken egg, and I'd yet to see any birds other than that one blackbird-like pokémon from last night.

"It's a pokémon egg. Keep it safe and it'll eventually hatch," I explained.

"What kind is it?" Shinji asked, nodding as he placed it back in his pack carefully.

I shrugged, looking up at the sky before answering. "I have no clue. In the game, they were all cream colored with greenish spots, but that one's not, so I guess the Gold game wasn't that accurate, there."

Mei frowned, before looking at the woods around us. "So should we try for the town, or camp out here? The packs have small survival shelters in them, as well as food and other supplies, but I'd hate to camp out, just to find another half hour of walking would get us to town."

I sighed, setting my pack down. "One second," I mumbled, before rising up into the air. Ignoring Ranma's shouting, I pushed the few branches in my way aside, quickly gaining enough height to look out over the forest. Rising further to get a better view of things, I spun, quickly spotting the large grass-covered field we'd started in, before turning around and trying to find the town we assumed was up ahead.

The forest spread north as far as I could see, but to the south, it ended about three miles away. Ahead, it was also about three miles to the end of the trees, where a small lake reflected the night sky back up at me. Beyond that, I couldn't see too well, but a red roof was enough to convince me that there was a building there, if not a town.

Dropping back down into the forest, I quickly landed, again ignoring Ranma as he started begging me to teach him. "The town's about three miles ahead. There's a lake we'll have to cross, and probably another small field... if you really want to, we can walk it, but I'm fairly tired. I vote camp."

Mei nodded, "that's not too bad-" Ranma cut her off.

"Yeah! I thought you were strong. We can make three miles easy!"

Mei scowled, waiting for Ranma to finish before continuing "-on _land_. However, in the woods, without a set path, we're going to have a bit of a trek. I say camp as well."

Mei and I looked at Ranma, who was staring at us in surprise, before we both turned to look at Shinji. "What do you say, Lieutenant?" I asked.

He looked surprised to be called that, before looking around at the woods around us. "I guess we could camp here. I'd like to rest, in any case. Once we got away, Ranma gave me my pack back... it's gotten kind of heavy."

I nodded. "We camp them Ranma, find us a good place to set up camp."

"What? I'm not your slave! This is sad. We could be out of here in a half hour! Come on!" He cried, looking around as if there were someone there that would back him up.

I scowled at him, "Next time there's a pokémon to fight, you can have the honors."

"You mean like that one?" He asked, suddenly looking curiously at something behind me.

Turning around, I prepared myself for another ghost, but instead found my gaze falling on a small furry creature that looked like nothing other than a stuffed rabbit doll with really fluffy ears.

"Oh, how cute," Mei drawled, though she smiled slightly at it.

I sighed. "Sure Ranma. Beat up the stuffed animal. Shinji, Mei, come on; lets go set up camp."

* * *

Author's notes: Yes, all you reviewers, _Pokémon. _Wow, I'm not really surprised that I got such a reaction, but it was kind of funny how everyone seemed so surprised. I suppose after Eva (and Wing Commander, too, I suppose) this is a bit of a switch... but... well... not to give too much away, but this is a chance for everyone to kind of wind down. So sure it'll have my usual type of zany randomness and bouts of random action interspersed with dialogue (I need to work on my writing... It's so formulaic...) but, well... relax. This world isn't blowing up anytime soon. 

Also, down here I'll have to write out pokémon-related things, at least until someone in the story gets a Pokédex. The Furret is self-explanatory, and that bird wearing a hat was a Murkrow, which is known for stealing shiny things. Misdreavus is a ghost type pokémon that likes to scare people, and it eats their fear. The larger ghost was a Mismagius, the evolved for of Misdreavus. The stuffed rabbit at the end there was a Buneary. All pokémon can be looked up at

The Bulbapedia is where I get most of my info from, you can Google "bulbapedia" to get there. The other place I go is which has a nicer layout of what moves a specific pokémon can learn. And yeah, I played the games. A lot. So hopefully I won't make an ass of myself while writing this.

Finally, I'd like to thank Nate and Tannim, who pre-read this chapter as well, and ensured that my typos were beaten to the beast of my ability. Thanks!


	4. Chapter 3

Something was beeping.

Pulling my eyes open wearily, I slowly dragged myself across my sleeping bag to my pack, which was glowing and shaking slightly, as well as giving off the repetitive beep. Finally reaching in and pulling out the offending device, I stared at it in sleep-addled confusion, before realizing it was my datapad/commlink.

"Hello?" I asked, after switching it on. Apparently someone was trying to contact me.

"Lord Kyle? This is Major Wessel. We've been asked to patch a call through to you from the second team."

"Who... what?" I asked, frowning. The Major winced, as if suddenly realizing he'd woken me up, before clarifying, "the pilot of your shuttle."

"Oh," I mumbled, "alright. Patch then through."

The screen flickered, before the Major's image was replaced by Makoto's far-too-energetic face. "Good morning!"

Glancing at the thin plastic-like window on the door, I noticed it was still dark out, but slightly lighter. Apparently we were close to sunup.

"Something like that," I mumbled, before sitting up and stretching. "How was your night?" I asked, as I twisted, popping the vertebrae in my back.

"Nabiki tosses and turns way too much to share a tent with, and Ibuki snores," she replied, glancing over her shoulder.

I grinned as someone behind her shouted indignantly "I do not" and suddenly a small pillow impacted with the back of Makoto's head.

"Nice to see you're all getting along," I said, as I grabbed my canteen and took a drink of water. "Have you figured out where you are yet? Region-wise, I mean?"

Makoto shook her head. "Not yet. We set down pretty far outside of a town, so we wouldn't be detected easily, but that meant a long walk to civilization. We pitched camp as night fell, and we're just getting up. Thought I'd call you up."

"That was thoughtful," I replied with a smile. "We're in the same boat, really. As soon as we're all up, we'll get going... there's a town nearby, so it shouldn't be _too_ long a walk to get there."

Makoto nodded. "Definitely the same boat. Have you seen any pokémon yet?"

I smirked, "Of course! Have you?"

She nodded. "Of course!"

"What kinds?" I asked.

At that, she shrugged, looking away from the camera for a second. "Since I never played the games and didn't see much of the episodes, I don't know that many. But Nabiki didn't really recognize any of them, either."

I nodded in understanding. "Same here, really; I recognized a few, but there were others I didn't. I guess that means that these areas are regions that haven't been made into games yet."

"With only Johto and Kanto covered in the games, that's probably to be expected," Makoto said.

"They could be in games that haven't been released yet," Nabiki piped in, sliding in beside Makoto to appear in the image with her.

I shrugged. "Probably; the series was definitely popular enough to earn another game... or twenty."

They two of them nodded, and Nabiki walked off, while Makoto frowned. "How's your group?"

I smiled, but it melted as I considered it in depth. "Well... It could be entertaining, I suppose, but only if you don't look at the big picture."

Makoto frowned. "What do you mean?"

Looking away from the screen, I started to explain. "Well, Ranma wasn't with us for Eva, so... I think we- everyone who was there, I mean- we're all feeling a bit of guilt... survivor's guilt, or failure to come through in the end... you know..." I trailed off, unable to really voice the feeling, but she nodded in understanding. After all, she had been there, too. "Anyway," I continued, "he doesn't have that, and being his usual self, it's kind of annoyed Shinji, since he never met Ranma before... unlike Mei, who seems to kind of remember him somehow."

Makoto blinked. "Oh... okay..."

I chuckled. "Back on track: Ranma's been annoying Shinji somewhat, and so Shinji's gotten kind of short with him. It's interesting to see Shinji act so... aggressive? Maybe assertive? Not that Ranma seems to notice, but it's nice that he's not avoiding confrontations."

She frowned. "That's funny?"

I shrugged. "This_is_ Ranma we're talking about. Coming from a comedy series, certain traits are endearingly humorous, despite the fact that he's being ignorantly antagonizing."

She nodded slowly. "If you say so... How about Mei?" She asked with obvious curiosity.

I tossed my head to the side, quirking a brow. "Afraid something might happen?"

She scowled, "Please. She may think like me, but you're not that desperate."

Frowning, I asked her, "what? You don't think Rei's cute?"

Makoto shook her head, "No, she will be... you know, once she's no longer what most people refer to as 'jailbait.'"

I laughed. "I'll keep that in mind." Turning serious again, I frowned, "You aren't really worried, are you?"

She shook her head, "I'd be lying if I said 'no;' but I'm not really afraid of anything _happening_. You've never had a wandering eye before, and even if you did, Mei knows what I'd do to her when we met up if she tried anything. Just, you know," she shrugged. "The usual insecurities."

I nodded. "I understand. Honestly, though, I haven't really even had the chance to talk to her much. The Trio isn't really all that easy a group to talk to. Nei acts vaguely amorous, and if I get splashed, Kei does, too. Mei's the most sensible-seeming one, but even though I can tell them apart now, I've never really seen much reason to seek them out and talk."

Makoto nodded slowly. "You should talk to her then. Maybe get yourself a contact once they're back together on _The Nerve_. And maybe she can hose the other two down when they start staring at you hungrily. After all, she of all people should know that you're taken."

She smiled at that, and I couldn't help but chuckle. "Too true!" Glancing over my shoulder at the small sleeping back, and then at the window again, I sighed. "I suppose I should get my team up and moving. It's getting light out."

Makoto nodded, "We've still got an hour or two before the sun comes up, but Rei and Maya both seem to get up at ungodly hours, and after Eva... well... it'll be a while before either of us can get back to being heavy sleepers."

I nodded in understanding. "I know what you mean." Glancing again at the window, I sighed. "I'll keep the communicator out if you need to contact me."

"Likewise," she replied.

Smiling, I waved at the camera, "I love you, Makoto. Talk at you soon."

She smiled back, waving as well. "I love you too. Keep safe."

I nodded, before closing the connection. Then I closed the commlink and set it aside as I began packing my stuff back up.

The sleeping bag, pillow, and other items in the interior of the tent went into the bag first, followed by the collapsible structure itself; a surprisingly compact contraption, when fully collapsed. It had been cool inside, but not cold, and remarkably quiet, considering the night-time sounds coming from all around us in the forest.

When everything had been packed up, I slid the commlink into one of the easy-access side pockets, before making my way over to Ranma's tent. Unlike the structure Mei, Shinji and I had, Ranma had been forced to make-do with a tarp over a string, though with all the nights he had spent in the past without even that much, he hadn't even bothered complaining about the disparity in amenities as we had set up camp. Of course, without a door like our structures had, it also meant I didn't have to be sneaky about grabbing him and chucking him towards a pile of leaves in a nearby ravine.

"Wha?" he asked, already twisting in the air to correct his landing.

Jumping after him, I grinned, "Good morning, Ranma!"

The sparring match started off utterly one-sided, as he proceeded to show me that, while I may have been as good as he was when he first appeared in Nerima, he had grown by leaps and bounds since then. Of course, once he understood that, he lowered his skill level some, so that instead of trouncing me, he had me doing my damnedest to tag him.

Finally, after a rather irksome chase through the surrounding woods, we called it quits after a surprise throw had landed me in a small stream, and quick cheat via my AT-Field had bounced him into the stream beside me.

"Okay, that was kind of neat... and you flew last night! You have to show me how!" Ranma said, as we were wringing out or soaked clothes.

I winced, "I already told you it's because of the curse. Unless you want to add to yours, and make it completely irreversible in the process, I don't think you'll be able to do so."

"But..." he started to protest, before I cut him off.

"Furthermore! Not only was I able to summon an AT-Field due to the curse, the popular theory Ritsuko and Cantrall have is that, since I was cursed outside of your universe, there was now universal 'template' for me to adhere to, leaving my cursed form in the Wing Commander universe fairly indistinct. Only after arriving in a universe with a distinct definition of the term angel did my curse have a final form to solidify into. Even then, I was still incapable of doing much more than summoning a weak AT-Field until Armisael mistook me for a traitor and put a part of her core into me."

As I explained that last part, I rubbed my chest where the small core lie nestled behind my breastbone, within the confines of my ribcage. Ranma, however, was staring at me in confusion, and I sighed as I pulled my damp but no-longer-dripping shirt and pants back on. "Basically, Ranma, you can't learn it. Your best bet would be to simulate it. And I'm fairly certain you can do that if you see me do it enough times."

"Oh." He replied in a monotone voice, before frowning. "Why didn't you just say that in the first place?"

I shrugged. "Not like it would have mattered. At least this way, you'll avoid asking me again, simply because I could just say all that over again."

Grumbling, Ranma pulled her own shirt back on, before walking back towards camp.

I turned to look back at the little stream, before following her, though we didn't get far before we were stopped by an obstacle.

"What the heck are those?"

Standing in our way were about twenty or so little _things._ "I have no earthly idea," I mumbled, trying to decide by its appearance what type of pokémon they were, since that's what they had to be.

Standing on two little nubs, the whole thing was just a little over a foot high, and looked like a dingy mound of pale porous flesh with a ring of nubs around its edge, while its underside (including its legs) were dark green. There were also green spots on the top, and the only thing that gave it any sense of orientation was the face stuck on its top; a rather grumpy, cartoonish face, complete with beady little eyes.

All of them looked like that, and I couldn't help but stare back as they glared at us with what looked like a frown.

"Are they pokémon?" Ranma asked.

"Yes. Looks like a plant-type, with the green, though that doesn't really mean much. The brown could mean it's a ground-type, too."

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Ranma's eyes widen comically as he pointed. "You mean that's a _plant_?"

I shrugged. "Could be... Could also be a rock. We need to get to town and get a Pokédex. All this not knowing is getting annoying."

"So... how do we get past them?" He asked, frowning.

I smiled. "I took care of the last group. This one is all yours," I said, before taking off; flying straight up.

Ranma shouted something unintelligibly from below, but I ignored her, passing through the canopy into the sky, which had brightened considerably. Spotting the town ahead after a moment of searching, I turned my gaze downward, looking for a good place to re-enter the forest, before dropping down into the trees a little ways away from the area I'd risen from. Landing on a branch, I sat down to watch Ranma, who was dodging the little pokémon as she weaved through them towards camp.

Despite all her weaving however, the ridiculous-looking pokémon moved as a group once she'd entered the mass, so no matter which direction she moved, she was always located in the center of their group.

"Hoot?" Something said from beside me. Jumping off the branch and hovering a few feet away, I glared at the bird that had apparently snuck up on me. With its big eyes, separate head and body, and obvious owl-like appearance, I chuckled. "Noctowl," I muttered to myself, before floating back to the branch and sitting back down to watch Ranma's brawl. The Owl-pokémon twisted its head nearly upside down as I did this, before giving a softer, questioning hoot and turning its attention to Ranma, as well.

Ranma had yet to give up avoiding them, though by now, the pokémon were obviously getting annoyed as all their lunges, leaps, and charges met with thin air, or another pokémon as Ranma dodged them with uncanny ease.

"Gaaa..." something said from the woods nearby. From almost directly beneath me, a new figure emerged from the underbrush, this one a little more than half as tall as Ranma, and far more animalistic in appearance.

"What the?" Ranma cried, as the gang of pokémon around her pulled back. Turning as the other pokémon gave another cry she repeated her question, before frowning. "What the heck are you supposed to be? A lizard?"

It did _kind_ _of_ look like a lizard; though it also looked a lot like a mushroom. From my angle, I couldn't see its head, but then, considering the way some pokémon looked, I might have been looking at its head, which was shaped like a green mushroom cap with a red barnacle-like protrusion on the edge. Behind it was a pale tail ending in four pea-like pods. Almost like an Ankylosaurus.

It's green legs ended in bright red feet that looked kind of like two oversized seeds, and on its torso, peeking out from around its ridiculous hat-like top, A similar pair of red limbs rested; its arms, apparently.

It approached Ranma warily, and Ranma frowned as it drew nearer, mumbling something I couldn't make out from this distance. Finally, the littler pokémon let the larger into the circle, and the two combatants sized the other up.

After a moment of silence, the new pokémon lunged, its little red arms stretching out ridiculously, almost too fast to follow. Ranma, not having expected that, barely managed to dodge, as the limb actually changed course in an attempt to follow her dodge under the attack.

"Whoa!" Ranma cried, leaping back as the other arm lashed out. Despite the protest, however, Ranma was suddenly smiling. Landing in a fighting stance, the pigtailed martial artist waited until the pokémon got close before she let loose with a relatively slow punch, apparently testing its abilities. When it dodged the punch with ease, countering with another, Ranma's smile only grew.

Suddenly the two were moving around the circle rapidly, the pokémon not only trying to punch its opponent, but spinning to attack with its tail or sweep Ranma's feet out from under her, while Ranma proceeded to dodge it, taunt it, or poke it as she danced around its attacks.

I sighed, hopping off the tree and floating over to the fight as the pokémon continued its attempted assault, much to Ranma's enjoyment. Finally, I waved my hand, and the pokémon's next punch ran into my AT-Field, right before a return poke from Ranma bounced off the Field's opposite side.

"Hey!" Ranma protested, looking around for me. Shrugging, I dropped to the ground, the watching pokémon scurrying out from underfoot.

"Ranma, I know you're having fun, but we do have to get back to camp. Shinji and Mei are probably up by now, and we do need to get to that town."

"But... what about this fight?" She whined.

"What about it? This is a pokémon. You're supposed to knock it out with another pokémon, or capture it once it's weakened. Since you don't have another pokémon or a pokéball, both of those options are kind of unavailable," I explained.

Ranma frowned, "But this little guy is fun! He's learning pretty fast, and... can I keep him?"

I blinked. "Can you _what_?"

"You said we could capture them, right? I'll just put him on a leash until we get a cage." Ranma said, while the indicated pokémon took a step back from the AT-Field and watched us warily.

I frowned, "While I don't doubt you could do that, I don't think many people would approve... and a pokéball isn't a cage. It's a ball, about," I held up my hand, "this big, and the pokémon is stored inside."

Ranma looked at my hand, then the pokémon with a frown. "I could stuff him into my backpack..." she said, to which the pokémon jumped back with a squeak.

I winced as I imagined Ranma trying to do that. "It's... not quite like that," I said, finally. Turning to look up at the sky for a moment, I shrugged. "Tell you what. You, out of all of us, are the most capable of defending yourself, and you know how to survive in the wild. We'll go on ahead, and you can catch up. We'll leave your pack in your tent."

Ranma stared at me in obvious surprise. "You'd do that for me?" She asked.

I frowned. "Well, I just said I would, didn't I? We'll see you around. Don't go too hard on this one," I said, eyeballing the pokémon one more time before turning back towards camp. Behind me, I heard a grunt, and the sound of leaves being kicked around as Ranma went back to his fight.

Getting back to camp, I found my earlier prediction only half-correct, with Mei awake, dressed, and already packed, while Shinji's shelter was still closed tight, apparently with him still inside it.

"Morning," Mei mumbled, as she poked at a small fire she had made. Something was cooking on it, and after a few more minutes, she dished it up some up and handed it to me, before taking the rest for herself.

"Nothing for Shinji or Ranma?" I asked with a grin. Mei shrugged and took a bite.

For a few minutes, we ate like that in silence, before I frowned in thought. "I thought you were a vegetarian."

"_Rei_ may be; we certainly aren't," Mei replied. Turning to look at me, she frowned, "do you really think we would be able to turn down a filet, or sashimi, remembering how good it tastes?"

I shrugged apologetically. "Sorry. I honestly still don't know how that worked. Nei and Kei tend to make conversations a bit of a battle unless I pull rank. At which point, conversations tend to die a horrible death.

Mei smirked, "Tell me about it." Setting her empty plate aside, she wiped her mouth, before nodding. "What would you like to know?"

I blinked. "Wow. Just like that?"

Mei chuckled before climbing to her feet. "Well, maybe not _just _like that. I'm going to pack, and you can help, if you like, and we should wake Shinji... but while we work, I can answer whatever questions you have."

I nodded, before climbing to my feet and following her. "So... I know you're... umm... _based _upon Makoto, but you said you remember eating meat, which would mean you also have our memories, or something, then."

Mei nodded as she slipped inside her shelter, the sounds of her rummaging around inside as her voice carried through the open doorway. "We don't have a direct copy of your memories. It's more like... well, for me, I can remember the strongest memories Makoto had, at the time of the... transfer, as does she... but while she may not remember what she had three days ago for breakfast, any memories she might have of things that are only relevant to her, I might forget in the same way, since they aren't relevant to me; Mei."

I hummed at that, wondering if I should ask Kei about some of the more random memories I have. "Do you remember anything from before the... err... transfer?"

There was a moment of silence, before Mei stepped outside, dragging her pack with her. "Not coherently, no. Remember, we were relatively mindless clones for much of our lives, and Dr. Akagi had no way to accelerate growth, so we spent fourteen years in the tank before you activated us."

"And you don't remember any of it?" I asked in surprise.

She shook her head as her shelter started to collapse at her command. "I didn't say that, I just don't remember it coherently. Without a soul, we didn't have the self-awareness to understand our surroundings... If I think back far enough... _hard_ enough, I can remember a few things... a soft orange glow, the occasional feeling of bumping into something I assume was another clone..."

She paused as she packed, as if straining to remember something. "I... think I remember seeing Rei step into that machine in the center of the room. It's... very vague... and probably only because it happened hundreds of times as she- and we- grew up, but it's hazy." Mei shrugged. "Do you remember what it was like before you were born?"

I shook my head. "Nobody does with any certainty."

Mei nodded as she closed her pack and fastened it closed. "It's kind of the same with us. Our brains may have physically matured to the point that it could retain things, like I just showed by recalling certain things... but at the same time, without being aware, it took a lot of repeated actions for anything to stick with us."

I nodded, giving her a hand with the last couple fastenings, before turning towards Shinji's abode.

"Wait," Mei said, putting a hand on my shoulder to stop me. "Allow me."

Before I could protest, she had slipped into his shelter, and a moment later, I heard the panicked shout of "Ayanami!?" before Mei's laugh came rolling out the door, a moment before she did.

"What'd you do?" I asked, as her laughter died off.

"Think: something like sleeping beauty for adults," Mei replied with a grin.

I blinked a few times, trying to process that, before shaking my head. "And here I thought you were the least amorous of the Trio."

Mei chuckled as Shinji stepped out of his tent, shot her a glare, and made his way over to the fire with some food of his own.

"I am," she finally said. "However, while Makoto, you and Nabiki are all sensible adults... for the most part... we _are _stuck in fourteen year-old bodies. You can't fight those kinds of hormones all the time, or you'll go insane."

I grimaced. "An adult mentality in a pubescent body... must be tough."

Mei rolled her eyes. "Trust me when I say Makoto's memories of these times stuck. I know both what to expect, and how to deal. But Kei's totally confused, and half the time, Nei freaks her out by telling her horror stories that are impossible, but _sound_ real."

I chuckled, before shaking off the mirth. "Yeah, I suppose I can almost sympathize, being cursed, but I don't even want to begin to think of you and Nei giving Kei lessons on... err... you know what, let's just move on?"

Mei laughed. "Why? We're getting into the fun stuff. Did you know Nabiki is bi? Or at least is open to the suggestion."

I sighed. "No, no I didn't. And honestly, I didn't need to know. Thanks."

Mei smirked. "You're welcome. But this is revenge on them, and very fun for me. Nabiki is a bit younger than you and Makoto, so her interests and preferences gave Nei enough of an appreciation for us that she tried to start a relationship with Kei."

Despite the mental images that brought up, I couldn't help but ask, "How'd Kei take that."

Mei grinned, "Well, you were already married to Makoto when Kei... _became_ Kei, so even though Kei is definitely a lesbian, and a major tomboy, her interests are in girls like Makoto, which Nei and I definitely are not... at least physically."

"But mentally..." I started, before she laughed again.

"I may be like her mentally, but I still look fourteen. And you're a guy, so the whole stigma of dating outside of your age range transferred over... Not to mention that Kei and Nei might like girls, but I'm not into that. Makoto is straight, after all."

I blinked, trying to process all that, while Shinji stared at Mei, mouth agape, as his food burned in the fire, utterly forgotten.

Finally, I shook my head in an attempt to remove all the errant thoughts. "So basically, Kei wants you mentally, but doesn't find you visually attractive. Nei wants you and Kei, doesn't care how you look, but would also be open to a relationship with a guy, and you want..." I trailed off, before glancing at the Third Children, Pilot of Unit-01, and obviously shell-shocked young man eavesdropping. "You want Shinji?"

Mei started laughing, while Shinji turned bright red, and I grinned, before kicking Shinji's food out of the fire. It had been burned beyond recognition, and was now on fire itself. Kicking some sand onto the blackened mass, I shrugged. "Thanks for that, Mei. You get to bandage him up after every tree he walks into."

Mei chuckled, before turning to Shinji. "Don't worry, Shin-chan, I'll make sure to take care of all your boo-boos," she cooed at him, turning him even redder.

Shaking my head sadly, I made my way into Shinji's shelter for a moment, pulling some more of his food out and making my way over to the fire where I carefully started heating it up for him.

"So, really, then... not that this conversation is in any way decent, but who... or what... are you interested in?" I asked as Shinji crawled back into his shelter, grumbling.

Mei paused in thought, before sitting down. "Makoto was married to you before you got cursed, and had time to adapt to it, but even though I remember the highlights of your times together-" at that I frowned, but Mei shrugged and continued, "her memories of you tend to ignore your cursed form... but I'm not Makoto, so when I look at you right now, I don't really equate you to the guy-Kyle in any way except intellectually." Mei shrugged.

"So... what kind of answer is that?" I asked, frowning.

Mei smiled, "I'm getting there! Like Kei, I prefer people my mental age, and I'd prefer it if they also looked that age, though not as vehemently as Kei. Because of your curse, you're not really attractive to me... but if you weren't, Makoto might have been justified in her fears. As it stands, I'm not really interested in anyone, and I just wish Nei would rape Kei and solve all of our problems."

As she said her final line, Shinji, who'd just emerged from his shelter with his pack froze, before collapsing to the ground in a boneless, confused-looking heap.

Rolling my eyes, I stood up. "_I'll_ bring him back to coherency this time. Why don't you check his pack, before putting his shelter away," I said, pulling out a packet of smelling salts from the first aid kit in one of the many pockets on my backpack.

After Shinji had come back to reality (he hadn't passed out, but was utterly lost in thought) we quickly finished packing up camp and moving onwards, towards the town.

"So you don't know what it is?" Mei asked, as we watched a pokémon fly by. This one was obviously a bug-type, with its multiple-pupil eyes and moth-like shape and flight-style.

Earlier we'd come across another one of those rabbit-doll pokémon, and as we continued on, away from the moth, we passed a few little plant-types (I assumed) that looked like walking plant seeds with faces.

"This is new," Mei stated, as we looked out over a worn-looking path weaving through the trees in the general direction we were headed. From where we stood, on the edge of a 20-foot or so cliff, we could see ahead, where the trees were thinned out enough that the edge of the forest was finally visible. Before the edge of the forest, and slightly to the north was a structure I could barely make out between the trees, but as it was day, I couldn't tell whether or not its lights were on.

Directly below us was a clearing of sorts full of waist-high brush that rustled occasionally as something or some things moved around within. Sticking out of the brush was a large, moss-covered rock.

"Well, can either of you jump down that far without breaking anything?" I asked, somewhat rhetorically.

When they shook their heads I shrugged. "Alright. I'll give you a ride. One sec."

Shrugging off my backpack, I leapt down, hoping I wouldn't land on a rock, fallen log, or pokémon, and sighing with relief when I didn't, before turning to look back up at them. Waving my hand, I called up "Toss my pack out!"

Shinji did, trying to toss it to me, but it had barely left his arms before it 'landed' on my AT-Field, hovering there at their ground-level. "Hop on!" I called.

Mei was first, taking a tentative step out on to the AT-Field, first testing it with a toe, then her foot, before putting all her weight into it. Shinji watched her, and after it was apparent I wouldn't drop her, stepped out as well.

With the combined weight of them and my own pack, the AT-Field was visible, and I frowned, before manipulating it to bend, its flat surface becoming concaved, and lowering them to the ground. When they were five feet above the surface, I winced. "That's about as far as I can warp it at that size. Get ready to drop," I explained.

As they crouched, I counted down, "Three, two, one!" And collapsed the field, leaving them unsupported. Gravity took over, and they fell the rest of the way to the ground, Mei managing to land in a crouch, while Shinji started to do the same, but fell face first into the underbrush.

"Man, that was pathetic," someone said from the ledge we'd just come down from. As I pulled Shinji to his feet, I glanced up with a frown. "Well, Ranma, not everyone is as good as you."

Ranma shrugged, jumping out into the air with a flourish, to come down into a crouch on the rock sticking out of the field. Or at least, she attempted to. Much like I'd worried about when I considered doing something similar, the mossy-rock was slick with dew, and the graceful landing turned into something far less visually appealing, but far more entertaining.

Shinji chuckled as something in the bushes squealed in alarm as Ranma landed on it, and suddenly she went flying back as if launched, a moment before another one of those rabbits jumped out of the bushes after her.

Before it made it to the dazed Martial Artist, however, the mushroom-lizard from that morning leapt down from the ledge, drop-kicking the rabbit as it tried to do the same to Ranma. Without another word, the two started going at it, the smaller rabbit obviously outclassed, but still putting up a respectable fight, as Ranma lay dazed on the ground nearby.

Finally, with a squeak, the rabbit was knocked away and disappeared into the bushes, and the mushroom-lizard made its way over to Ranma, poking at her with its toe before she wearily climbed to her feet.

"So," I said, slipping my backpack back into place, "what were you saying about landings?"

Ranma grumbled, but didn't say anything, and I smirked, before turning towards the path. Before making it half-way, however, a big red caterpillar popped out of the bushes ahead of us, chittering excitedly as it waved its little limbs at us.

I blinked. "Okay... this must be tall grass," I said to myself, before walking over to the giant bug, and picking it up. While it had tried to poke me with both the horn-like protrusion on its head, and the two on its tail, I avoided those, twisting it so that it would have a hard time reaching me, before tossing it back the way we came.

"Let's hurry," I said, pointing towards the nearby path. "Stay out of the tall grass, they all seem somewhat volatile in it."

Running to the path, we weren't accosted by any more pokémon, but behind us, converging on our disturbed path through the bushes, there were shaking paths from pokémon, like sharks homing in on chum, and I grinned as I felt the sturdy packed-dirt path beneath my feet.

"We should be safe enough here," I explained, before tuning to the newest member of our party.

Ranma, somehow, had managed to get the mushroom-lizard to follow her. "So what are you?" I asked rhetorically. The pokémon stared at me for a moment, before speaking; "Kinogassa."

I blinked. "... riiiight." Shrugging, I studied it while I could, as it stood there watching me warily. Under its mushroom-like hat was a head that, from the side, looked like Pac-man with an overbite. Unlike the pill-popping video-game icon, however, this pokémon was pale, almost cream-colored, at least where it wasn't green or red, and its skin, upon closer inspection, looked like the porous surface of a mushroom. Its large, beady eyes were surprisingly expressive, considering the lack of visible pupils or irises and I stepped back, taking it all in, before shrugging.

"What did you name him?" I asked.

Ranma frowned. "I have to name him?"

I shrugged. "No, you could call him by his species if you want. But some trainers give their pokémon names to differentiate them from others of the same species. So..." I shrugged.

Ranma nodded, looking at the 'Kinogassa' for a moment, before nodding. "I'll call him Eno."

Shinji nodded in apparent understanding.

"Does it mean anything special?" Mei asked.

Shinji nodded again, answering, "It's a type of edible mushroom; enokitake."

Ranma nodded, before patting the pokémon on the head. "You're Eno, now." She smiled, before turning to me. "So... do I have to register him or anything?"

I sighed, turning to look at the path, before continuing ahead, the others following.

"You'll need a pokéball to put him in to register him properly. And to get a ball, you need to register as a trainer or whatever other pokémon-related occupations there are."

Ranma didn't respond to that, and I continued walking, knowing she could keep up.

The path wasn't perfect, much to my initial displeasure, but after realizing that, unlike in the games, you could definitely see if there were pokémon approaching, we managed to reach the structure I'd seen earlier without getting into any more fights, though Ranma and Eno looked a bit disappointed about that.

The structure I had glimpsed was apparently an impressively-sized mansion, though upon closer inspection only its size was impressive, the rest of it was dilapidated and run-down. It was obvious nobody lived here anymore. If they did, they certainly didn't know what the word 'upkeep' meant.

Still, while there was a chance that someone might be inside, we passed it by. As we traveled, Ranma pointed out places where people had waited around in random locations, but there weren't any people around _now_, and I was getting kind of anxious to get to the town.

Finally, with the sun almost directly overhead, we emerged from the forest on the edge of a small field. To the north was a rather rocky-looking hill that was apparently part of the mountain rising in the distance, and to the south, another hill rose, though far less foreboding than the one across from it.

Directly ahead lie a marshy pond with a wooden boardwalk weaving its way across it, and on the far side of the pond lie another field of tall grass, though the grass this time was far less bushy, and a lot grassier. Smirking as I spotted the tell-take wiggles of pokémon moving around within it, I started for the boardwalk, beyond which I could see buildings nestled in between the hills ahead. We'd made it.

Unfortunately, despite our high spirits, fate conspired against us. I'd forgotten one of the golden rules of pokémon, and as I passed one of the various people fishing off the edge, I met his gaze and nodded an acknowledgement, opening my mouth to say hello.

Before I could, however, the man jumped to his feet with a smile. "My first catch of the day! Ready?" He asked, pulling a pokéball from his belt.

I winced. "Actually, I don't have any pokémon." I said, apologetically.

The man frowned. "Then what's that?" he asked, pointing to Eno.

I shrugged. "That's Eno. He's not mine."

The fisherman frowned. "How'd you get through Eterna Forest without any pokémon?"

Thinking quickly, and not wanting to admit that I just beat up whatever got in my way, I remembered an item from the games, blurting out its name before someone else could blow our cover. "Repel."

The fisherman nodded, before putting the pokéball back into his belt. "I guess that makes sense." Sitting back down, he picked up his fishing poke, before turning to look at me again. "Do you like to fish?"

Glancing at the pole, and trying my hardest to hide my contempt for the activity, I shrugged nonchalantly. "Depends on what's biting," I answered.

The fisherman laughed at that, before nodding in agreement or understanding. "I hear that! Here, I've got no use for this, and you probably need as many as you can get," he said, before tossing me a small spray can.

'Maximum Strength Repel' was written on it, and I smiled appreciatively. "Thanks!" I said, pocketing it, and glad he hadn't given me a fishing rod. He nodded, before turning back to his fishing.

After we'd gotten a little ways away, but still far enough that the next fisherman wouldn't be able to hear us, Mei stopped the group. "Okay. What the hell was that?"

I shook my head. "_That_... was proof that this world is fairly game-like. In the game, if any pokémon trainer spotted you, you _had _to battle. They said it was if you make eye contact, but they'd chase you down if your back was turned, so at least here, if we don't meet anyone's gaze, we should be okay."

Ranma frowned, "But, what if they want to fight Eno? Not that he can't take them, but I don't want to get into a fight and have him taken away or put down or anything if I don't know the rules."

I repressed a laugh. "I really doubt they'd put him down. Don't worry about anything like that. Just... keep your eyes ahead, and try to let me do the talking, and we should be good."

Ranma and the others nodded, and I turned around, heading towards town, and studiously avoiding the other fishermen.

Eterna City was big. Not as big as Denver, or Jacksonville, or any of the metropolises I'd been to since leaving my world, but it was certainly bigger than the games seemed to imply most pokémon towns were. Of course, considering the hardware, that was probably to be expected. Thinking back, the anime had certainly implied the cities were larger than the games portrayed. Still, watching an animated version doesn't compare to actually being there.

"There it is, the Pokémon Center," I said, spotting the bright red roof and pokéball logo over the doorway.

"That's where we're headed?" Shinji asked.

I shook my head. "No; not quite. First, we need money."

Digging through our packs to the weighted bottoms, everyone pulled out the heaviest items, a single gold brick, which instantly made the load lighter. "Holy crap these things are heavy," I mumbled as Ranma took the stack of three and tucked them under one arm.

With that done, Ranma and I left our bags with the others, and, her-arms loaded with gold and mine free to negotiate, we entered the blue-roofed pokémart.

"Tell me something. Do _all_ places and things have poké- in the name?" Ranma asked as we entered the store. The young man behind the counter looked up at this, and I grimaced.

"Just accept that it's all over the place," I said, before approaching the counter, Ranma waiting behind me.

"Can I help you ladies?" he asked, and I grimaced, suddenly looking forward to a hot shower in the Pokémon Center.

"Yes. We'd like to exchange some gold for the local currency," I replied, curtly.

He looked surprised. "You found a nugget?"

I shook my head, "Not... exactly. Let's just say... we have gold, and we need cash instead." Stepping aside, Ranma tossed the three bars on the counter, which shuddered and groaned under the sudden weight.

"Dialga spare me!" the man behind the counter said, when he realized what he was looking at. I winced; that was a really stupid-sounding expletive.

After taking a few minutes to confirm their purity and weight, the man shook his head. "We don't have the cash on hand to buy all three bars from you. Do you have your Pokédex? We could wire the money to you electronically that way..." as he spoke I shook my head sadly.

"That's where we we're going next. We needed local currency, so we could get proper identification... As you can probably tell, we're not from around here," I explained. The guy nodded, before a woman in a suit pushed him out of the way.

"I'm the manager of this pokémart, ma'am, and I think I can help you out... where, exactly are you from?"

"Tokyo," Ranma said, before I could think of a more realistic (to them) answer.

The manager frowned. "Tokyo, huh? Never heard of it. What region is it in?"

I blinked. While still trying to come up with a name, she sighed. "What direction?"

"North," I said, at the same time Ranma said "South."

"South," I corrected, just as Ranma tried to correct herself and said "North."

Wincing, I waved for Ranma to stop before turning to her. "As you can tell, since we're not even sure where _here_ is, we can't really tell. We came south to get here, but that was after a lengthy ride down a mountain stream that went north and some wandering across the land generally northeast."

She nodded, before Ranma added in, "and we had to swim across an ocean, too."

I would have punched her if I could get away with it, but the manager just nodded. "Sounds like you ladies had a tough trip... so... Tokyo... from an unknown region. At least you aren't hurting for money, if your government can hand out gold bars."

I shook my head, but Ranma started talking again, "Oh, he's not a citizen. He's the Emperor."

The manager frowned. "'He' who?"

Ranma, realizing her mistake, opened her mouth to correct herself, but I stepped on her foot. Hard.

"My... umm... father. He's kind of like a king, but they call it Emperor," I explained, wincing internally as I tried to memorize the facts I was making up as I tried to dig us out of the hole Ranma was putting us in.

The manager's eyes widened. "Royalty! Well, why didn't you say so!"

I wanted to stare in shock. She actually seemed to be buying it. "Umm... we're undercover," I answered straight-faced.

She nodded, leaning forward conspiratorially. "I understand; trying to see the world before you have to take your place on the throne."

I nodded, feeling uneasy, "That's it exactly."

She leaned back, grinning in satisfaction. "Well, you came to the right place! I just happen to personally know Professor Rowan, who runs the research center in Sandgem town."

I nodded, before prompting her to continue as she paused, "Uh-huh...?"

Frowning, she looked at us for a moment before saying, "your Tokyo must be a long way away if you've never heard of Professor Rowan. He's the leading expert on pokémon evolution!"

I faked understanding, before Ranma spoke up again. "We don't have Pokémon in Tokyo."

My god, I wanted to hit her. Forcing my violent urges aside, I quickly shot her a glare, before turning to look at the manager who was staring at us in shock.

"But... no pokémon? How...?" she shook her head, before nodding to herself. "Well. It's obvious you left your town at the right time. I'll call the Professor and let him know you're coming. If you learn anything while out here in the world, it's how valuable pokémon can be!"

At that, I smiled, finally being able to say something in all honesty, "that's one thing I've begun to see already." Well, actually, I had known it for a while, but she was certainly free to keep her delusions.

Nodding, Ranma scooped up two of the bars, while the manager went into the back to make her phone call, and the young man from before began to count out a good hundred thousand poké-dollars.

"Without having a nugget to weigh it against, this is the best I'm afraid we can do, milady," the young man said, with honest sincerity.

I nodded, "This... should be fine." Looking down at the pile of bills, I winced. "Actually, it's a little much. Here, hold this Ranma. I'll carry the rest."

As we tried to stuff the money in whatever pockets we could find to lighten how much we'd have to carry, the manager returned, with a smile on her face. "You and your friend are expected at the Pokémon Laboratory in Sandgem Town. Professor Rowan said he was eager to meet you two."

I blinked at that, before frowning. "Aaactually... we've got two more friends outside. They didn't want to crowd the store," I explained.

The lady nodded sympathetically. "Without pokémon, I can see the need for traveling in bigger groups. I'll call him back and let him know to expect... four?" When I nodded, she continued, "Four then. And please! If you need anything, let us know. Normally, we have to see your badges to sell our higher-tier items, but for royalty... well... I think we can make an exception." Again with that conspiratorial winking.

I'm sure I was staring in surprise for a moment, before I finally smiled brilliantly. Or, I hoped it was brilliantly, since it was fake, and probably far more shark-like. "That's very kind of you. We'll be sure to let everyone we know how well we were treated here at your shop."

The manager actually swooned, before gigging. "A royal endorsement," she said, breathily, a dreamy look in her eyes, before she rushed into the back room with the phone.

"Okay... that was weird," I muttered, before turning to the shelves. The few customers that had heard the entire exchange stared at us as we browsed the isles, and I did my best to be polite or ignore them as I picked out a few items I thought we might need. Despite the abundance of items, I ended up approaching the counter with only three different items. A handful of Ultra Balls, another handful of Full Restores, and Ranma followed up with a third handful of Max Revives.

"Unfortunately, ma'am, I can't sell the pokéballs until you are registered in the system... if you were to capture more than six pokémon, the league officials would be notified when Miss Bebe started getting unregistered pokémon in her storage system," he explained.

I nodded, pushing the balls to the side, unwilling to argue. "That's fine, we'll wait. The only one we've caught so far has been willing to follow us, so until then, we'll just have to convince any others we find to behave, or come back later."

The guy smiled, and I winced as his gaze lingered a bit longer than it needed to. "So... how much is it?" I asked, when he continued smiling at me.

"What? Oh! Sorry!" he cried, shaking himself out of whatever trance he was in and quickly ringing us up. After paying for the total, we ducked out the door, not really wanting to get roped into another make-up-answers-on-the-spot session.

"Okay... what the hell was that?" I asked, as we reached the others, who'd been waiting outside the Pokémon Center.

"What was what?" Mei asked, as I handed her a quarter of the money.

"These people are... either really gullible, or decidedly naïve," I said, handing Shinji his quarter.

"But... we didn't really lie. That thing about your father being the emperor was, but we _are_ from Tokyo. And there aren't any pokémon there," Ranma said.

"And we swam across the ocean to get here?" I asked, scowling.

Ranma winced. "Well... it seemed like a good idea... and I _did_ swim across an ocean before," she argued defensively.

"First off, it was the Sea of Japan, not an ocean, and second, what if she starts telling people? I really don't look forward to re-telling that story." Turning to look at a clock in a nearby window I sighed. "It's almost three-thirty. Let's head inside... see if we can at least get cleaned up, before heading to that Sandgem Town."

As we entered the lobby, I heard Shinji ask from behind me, "You swam the sea of Japan?"

* * *

AN: another chapter, so soon? I'm on a roll! Nate and Matt pre-read this for me, and, well, there's not much to say, this time around... I've been writing a chapter every other night or so lately (and the next night editing and posting) so hopefully tomorrow, I'll get some of chapter 4 written. Or all of it, depending on how long I want it to be. So yeah... Tannim helped come up with one of the major plotlines for this part of NASIF, so hopefully, for those of you who enjoyed our earlier collaborations, this will have some of that good old humor I seem to have abandoned in NASIF4... Nothing heals like honest laughter... even if it's at the main characters' expense, right? 


	5. Chapter 4

The blast of cool air was surprising, though it really shouldn't have been. While I knew from the anime that a Pokémon Center worked much like a combination hotel/hospital, I hadn't really though about the similarities it might have to one or the other.

"Welcome to the Eterna- Oh! Your Highness!" The Nurse Joy behind the counter said, her rehearsed greeting interrupted as she appeared to recognize me. That recognition, however, was unwanted; to the extreme...

Sighing, and shooting Ranma a glare, I approached the counter. "Please, don't call me that."

The Nurse Joy looked scandalized, before nodding. "My apologies. In my excitement, I forgot you were trying to travel undercover. What can I help you with today?"

Looking around in interest, I shrugged," We could use a room for a few hours... a shower would be heavenly," I replied, smirking. Hot water would be good by itself, but a hot shower woulddo in a pinch.

The Nurse Joy nodded. "I see you have a Breloom with you, those aren't very common around here... would you like me to take a look at him while you rest up?"

I smiled as I nodded. "My friend here would definitely appreciate it," I answered, motioning to Ranma as I spoke.

Ranma, drawn from his inspection of the room to the conversation when I nudged her, nodded. "Uh, yeah. Right!"

I rolled my eyes. "Glad to see you're as observant as ever," I muttered, before smiling again at the Nurse Joy. "Do you have a Chansey here?" I asked.

She looked at me quizzically, before nodding slowly. "We do. She's in the back... I was under the impression that you didn't know about pokémon... if you pardon my directness."

I shook my head, "It's okay. While there are no native Pokémon in Tokyo or the surrounding region, some of us are taught about them... and since leaving, we've had quite a few opportunities to see them, and learn about the most common type found in pokémon centers," I explained with a smile. I may not have liked the back story Ranma helped fabricate, but I could certainly roll with it.

"Well! That's wonderful; you're learning so much, so quickly! Let me take your Breloom and get to work on checking it up, and we'll have you all ready to travel in no time. I hear Professor Rowan is somewhat anxious to meet you."

I blinked at that. "He is?"

Nurse Joy nodded earnestly. "Absolutely! While he may study Pokémon Evolution, all pokémon Professors are interested in learning new things... and very few things compare to the sudden appearance of royalty from a previously-undiscovered pokémon-less civilization."

"Uh-huh," I said, my smile frozen on my face. What the...? Shaking my head, I suppressed a grimace. It was, after all, a world based on a game designed to appeal to children. I suppose I should have expected that some of the population, if not the majority, would be a little more... simple-minded.

The Nurse Joy thrust something into my hands as I was thinking, and I had to ask her to repeat herself after I missed what she said the first time.

"I said that's the key to your room, on the second floor. It's a large suite for a small group, which I heard you're traveling in. Please return the key when you're finished and... well... I suppose I don't have to tell you not to battle inside the Pokémon Center, but please, enjoy your stay!"

I returned the Nurses bright smile with one of my own, before pulling Ranma away from the counter, where the Nurse Joy was had begun examining Eno and a Chansey had waddled out to join her. Pausing briefly to watch the pink, egg-shaped Pokémon, I smirked to myself as I made my way over to where Mei and Shinji were waiting.

"How'd it go?" Mei asked.

I sighed. "Ranma's little story in the shop seems to have spread fairly quickly. Hopefully it's only among a few of the people around here and that professor we're going to go see."

"_My_ story?" Ranma groused. "You didn't stop me if it was so wrong!"

Thrusting a finger into her chest, I scowled, "If you hadn't opened your mouth like I told you to, I wouldn't be getting the royal treatment everywhere we go!" I retorted, before pausing. "Wait... that didn't sound right."

Mei frowned, "Yeah... how is that a _bad _thing?"

I sighed, turning towards the elevators. "It's not," I conceded," not really. But it's a pain to remember. We're not really supposed to be drawing attention to ourselves, after all. We're supposed to be learning about where we are."

"You're in Sinnoh!" The Nurse Joy called over to us happily as she measured Eno's tail.

I nodded, "right." Before punching the elevator button and filing in. When the doors shut, I pushed the button for the second floor, and waited for the lift to stop. Mei and Shinji stayed silent, and Ranma looked like she wanted to say something, but kept stopping herself. Finally, the doors opened again, and I found our room by the number on the key, opening the door quietly before slipping inside with the others.

"Alright... It's not a _bad_ thing, to be treated like this, but it's hard to keep the story we've trapped ourselves in straight. So after I take a shower, I'm going to explain everything Ranma... _and I_-" I admitted after a momentary pause, "have said to back our claims up."

When everyone nodded, I tossed my pack on a nearby bed, and made my way into the attached bathroom, looking forward to washing the accumulated sweat and grime from walking through the forest (and a sparring match with Ranma) had gotten on me. I also looked forward to being my un-cursed self again.

Halfway through the shower, however, I scowled. Professor Rowan was expecting two girls, and two friends... while I could try to force Ranma and Mei to pose as the girls, and Shinji and I could be the friends, if the shop's managed had bothered at all with a description, that wouldn't work. I'd be stuck using my cursed form just because that's what form my Pokédex would be registered to.

Of course, with SHODAN, I could probably hack it to work in both forms without compromising it, but until the fleet moved in-system, I'd just have to bear it.

The rest of the visit to the Pokémon Center was fairly plain, as far as hotel-visits went. After I had finished my shower, Mei elbowed her way past Shinji and Ranma to take it, then Shinji, before Ranma got her chance to clean up. "What's the big deal? It's just a little dirt," she'd foolishly asked.

I stayed out of it as Mei laid into him about cleanliness, and Shinji was apparently lucky enough to miss the entire chewing-out while in the shower. After that, I explained our visit to the store in detail to Shinji and Mei, who helped build up some of our backstories, in case we were asked anything.

Tokyo was a city in a pokémon-free region that used technology to make up for the lack of pokémon-based help. When Mei brought up me and Ranma's Martial Arts as a possible above-possible ability, we decided that Tokyo was at war with another city in the region, and Ranma was a warrior in our army. The reason for own lesser skills in Martial Arts was due to Imperial Training my father had insisted upon.

"How about your ability to fly, or summon an AT-Field?" Shinji asked.

I winced. "That's... a bit tougher. I remember that the Psychic Gym leader in the first game was Psychic in the anime, so I suppose we could say it was some sort of genetic ability in the Imperial line."

When Ranma pointed out that Mei and I both had red eyes (when I was in my cursed form) we decided she would be a favorite cousin, and Shinji was her best friend, while Ranma would be my personal bodyguard, much to his protests.

"So what should we call this evil city attacking ours?" Mei asked.

As we sat back to think about it, Shinji suddenly spoke up. "Seele."

I quirked a brow at that. "Well... it's certainly original sounding..."

Mei nodded, and Ranma shrugged uncaringly. Finally, I nodded, "Sure, Seele it is. The evil... People's Republic of Seele."

Shinji stared at me, while Mei groaned. "'People's Republic?'" Ranma asked.

"It's... a communist thing." I muttered, before examining the room again. There were two bunk beds against the walls, and I stifled a yawn, before stretching.

"I don't know about the rest of you, but before I go splash myself and leave, I'm going to take a nap." So saying, I crawled into the top bunk of the bed nearest the door, and curled up under the covers, happy to have a full-sized bed under me, instead of a compact (if functional) sleeping bag.

Hearing the others clamber into beds of their own, I smirked to myself as I drifted off to sleep for a few hours.

There was someone knocking on the door.

Unlike earlier that morning, where a night of sleep had left me drowsy and disoriented, I snapped awake with a jolt, before calling out "Who is it?" and wincing as my voice came out weak and froggy.

"It's Officer Jenny. Nurse Joy called me to give you a ride to Sandgem town."

Blinking at that, I turned to look at Mei, on the bottom bunk across from me, who shrugged. Waving her to the door, I jumped out of bed and made my way to the bathroom.

Emerging a moment later with a towel in hand, I made my way over to the door, where Mei was speaking quietly through the cracked entryway with a teal-haired figure in blue outside.

"Ahh... you must be the Crown Princess everyone is talking about." She said, catching sight of me behind Mei.

I frowned. "Hopefully not _everybody_. I wasn't really planning on it being public knowledge."

Officer Jenny winced, "My apologies, then. While I myself haven't contributed to the spreading rumors, a shop full of people was probably not the best place to disclose your title."

I blinked. She actually sounded kind of smart. Most Officer Jenny's in the Anime were relatively good-natured, but dim-witted. "I can assure you, if I had had any say in the matter, the title would still be undisclosed. My bodyguard, however, is a bit loose-lipped, if you know what I mean..." I explained, trailing off, and she nodded in understanding.

"I know a few people like that. You have my sympathies."

I smiled genuinely. "Thank you."

Jenny smiled in return, before looking at her watch. "Your welcome... and I apologize for waking you. It's not often you find trainers using the rooms during the afternoon."

My smile turned into a grin. "It's probably also not often you host out-of-region travelers who've spent the past few days hiking through the wilderness."

The officer shrugged. "It's more likely than you think. But few of them make claims to royalty and have enough oddities to back such a claim up."

I frowned a little at her use of the word 'claim,' before opening the door and stepping aside with an apologetic bow of my head. "But where are my manners? Please, come in."

"Thank you," she said, before stepping in and looking the room over before frowning. "I thought there were supposed to be three girls in your party."

Mei entered the bathroom and emerged a moment later with a glass of water, and tossing it on Ranma, who had been in the bunk above hers.

"What!?" The martial artist yelled, jumping to her feet. Or at least she tried. In the top bunk, and with a low ceiling, she slammed her head into the ceiling with a resounding thud, before falling to the floor.

I winced, "Meet Ranko; my bodyguard."

Jenny stared down at Ranma with a frown. "Not very adroit..."

I winced, nodding, "if you were to see her in action, you'd believe me... but yeah, that was rather pathetic, wasn't it?" I asked, shaking my head sadly.

The Jenny shot me a quizzical look, before turning to look at our packs leaning against the wall below the window. Stepping over to them, she crouched and poked at one. "Interesting," she mumbled, pulling a glove off and running it along the side slowly.

When she finished, she wiped her hand off before slipping her glove back on and standing up. "That's certainly an interesting model. I don't think I've seen anything like it. And those fibers look both synthetic and tough. They lend some credit to your claims to royalty."

I frowned. There it was again. "That's the second time you've called my title a claim. Are you implying we're not who we say we are?"

The Jenny smiled, though it was far less friendly than before. "I never said that... but then, you never openly claimed it, either."

"What do you mean?" Mei asked, her frown mirroring my own.

The Jenny smiled again, before explaining, "unlike most of the population, I can access the security cameras in the pokémart, and you never actually said you were royalty. Instead, you led the manager to believe it."

"To what end?" I asked, quirking a brow. This was definitely not an average person... or Jenny, for that matter.

She shrugged, honestly looking unconcerned. "I don't know. No crime was committed, and once Martha starts a rumor, there's nothing I can do to stop it, so for now, I'll merely watch... but don't expect me to treat you like royalty unless you can prove it conclusively."

I shrugged. "Actually, that's probably for the best."

For the first time, she looked uncertain. "What do you mean?"

I crossed my arms and grinned. "I'm supposed to be traveling incognito, not with trumpets and criers announcing my presence to the world."

"But if you were lying, you'd also be doing the same, to avoid anyone finding proof that you aren't a princess," Jenny argued.

I scowled. "That's a weak argument, and you know it. If this were a lie, I'd need as many people to believe it as I could, to get away with as much as I could, before I was caught."

Jenny sighed, before nodding. "That idea has merit, but you have to admit, from where I stand, there's very little proof backing up your story save the markings on your bar of gold, and your packs."

"You could take us to your headquarters and run our prints. I can guarantee they're not on any record you have on file," Mei offered.

The Jenny actually scowled at that. "No thank you. I've seen enough of that place for now."

Shinji, who'd apparently woken up a little earlier and listened from the bed, asked what all of us were thinking. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Officer Jenny, however, shook her head, and pretended to ignore him. "You're all awake now, so please. If you would, my car is outside, and Sandgem town is a bit of a drive."

Shrugging, I grabbed my pack, slinging it over one shoulder, while the others followed.

"You all have everything?" Jenny asked, as we headed for the door.

"Eno!" Ranma said, rushing off as if suddenly remembering her pokémon. Of course, knowing her, she probably had.

Downstairs, Nurse Joy was handing a confused Ranma a pokéball as we approached, and I grinned as she took it very gently, but staring at it with distrust.

"And that's everything," I said to Jenny as she watched Ranma.

"Not quite, Milady," the Joy said, smiling as she handed a second pokéball to me. "I believe this belongs to you, as well."

I blinked. "Me? But I don't..." I trailed off, staring at it. It was a typical pokéball, red and white, with a white button, but for some reason, it was somewhat mesmerizing. I'd seen and held some plastic toy ones back home, but this was the first real one I'd held with a pokémon inside, and it was odd-feeling, as if I could actually sense the life inside of it.

"So... umm... Go?' I mumbled, pressing the button and pointing it away from me. With a flash of red light, a form materialized out of the ball, the energy-to-matter conversion taking a moment before the amorphous blob of light became something recognizable.

"Not again!" I said, as the Mismagius that had emerged from the ball looked around in confusion. When it finally spotted me, however, it winced, and flew off to hide behind the Nurse Joy.

Both Jenny and Joy frowned at that, and I grinned sheepishly before hastily explaining, "I didn't hurt it or abuse it or anything... a group of them tried to attack us and I kind of got into a fight with their leader."

"But you don't have any pokémon!" Jenny pointed out.

I shrugged. "Well, it's not like the leader was _that_ hard to beat. A couple good whacks and it was down... you don't think I killed it, do you?" I spun and turned to the Misdreavus who was peeking out from behind the Joy at me. "You aren't here to get revenge or anything, are you?"

"Muuu..." it said, shaking its head; which was its whole self, really.

I sighed. "Thank god. Is your boss okay? I couldn't really stick around to find out, you know..." I trailed off as everyone stared at me. "What?"

"You can understand it?" Jenny asked, looking as close to shocked as I'd seen her yet.

I shook my head. "No, but look at it, it shook its head, which was a fairly human response. And since it's not attacked me yet, I'm thinking we're safe... enough."

The Jenny seemed satisfied with that, but the Joy was still frowning at me. "I can't let you take this pokémon if it's apparent you've abused it. Even though it wasn't in a ball, it came here looking for you, only to hide when it... what?' She paused as Chansey pulled on her skirt to get her attention.

The two of them talked quietly back and forth for a few minutes, before she straightened up and looked somewhat apologetic. "Chansey thinks you're telling the truth, but we have to have proof before I can release this pokémon into your care," she said, finally.

"You can understand it?" Mei asked, somewhat mockingly.

Nurse Joy frowned. "I've worked with Chansey long enough to understand some of what she says... and in this instance, our shared concern for the welfare of pokémon makes understanding each other that much easier."

I nodded, before glancing around at the few trainers and guests watching the confrontation and wincing. "I can agree to proving that I'm not mistreating pokémon... any more than any other trainer does... but only if I can chose the time and the place and who gets to see it."

Joy shook her head. "That is unacceptable. I'm sorry Princess, but I'm going to have to ask for that pokéball back." She held her hand out expectantly.

Tossing it back to her, I shrugged. "I didn't expect to meet any of them here, anyway. However, since it would legally be mine if I could prove that I didn't do anything blatantly illegal to it, would you be willing to hold on to it for a day, just in case?"

Joy scowled. "Why would I do that?"

I pointed to the Officer Jenny, who was watching our conversation with open interest. "Jenny here has proven to have an open mind, and a relatively impressive analytical one, as well. Her, I'd definitely show, but I'm not in the mood to show off multiple times, so I'd like to do it only once, preferably at this Professor Rowan's place."

Jenny nodded. "If you can prove to me and a genuine Pokémon Professor how you managed to subdue a... what was it you said?"

I shook my head. "I didn't. Whatever it was, I didn't recognize it. Looked kind of like a ghost in a dress without limbs," I said, shrugging.

"Mismagius," Nurse Joy said, earning a nod from the Misdreavus, who'd finally come out and was now hovering across the room from me.

"Whatever it was," I said, looking at Jenny expectantly.

The Officer nodded, before continuing. "Right. If you can prove to the two of us that you did nothing illegal, I believe that should be enough legal weight to free your pokémon... but it had better be a good argument, because from here, I can definitely see a possible case of pokémon abuse developing." She grinned at me, though this time there was no humor in it.

I shrugged. "You'll get your proof. And the sooner we can leave, the sooner you'll have it." Turning to the Misdreavus, I waved at it, before Nurse Joy recalled it into its pokéball, and shot me a glare.

"Well, at least she's not treating you like a princess anymore," Ranma said, as we headed for the door.

I sighed. "No, this is much better. From Royalty to scum. An improvement anyone would love," I mumbled.

"Relax, if you can prove what you say, then I'll vouch for you... I'm parked over there," Jenny said, pointing to a convertible parked nearby.

"Shotgun!" I cried, running ahead and jumping into the passenger seat. During the lunge, I'd slipped my backpack off one shoulder, and as I landed in the seat, the pack landed on the floorboard between my feet.

"... Okay, that was impressive," Jenny said, as Ranma, Shinji and Mei all climbed into the back seat.

While the path we started traveling on was black-top paved roads through Eterna City, they quickly became much less than that, and I shuddered to think about how much wear a car would take on long trips if all the roads were packed dirt.

As we rode along, Jenny tried to start a conversation with me. Afraid to give away anything that might be incriminating to someone who had proven to be at least a bit more observant than the average ten-year-old, my tentative and hesitant replies seemed to encourage her to talk more.

"As I said... what information we have about pokémon is probably out of date, and doesn't actually _concern_ this region. We just have bits and pieces of information from the Johto and Kanto Regions, really... that's why I recognized Misdreavus, but not Breloom."

Pausing to glance at the tress passing by, I frowned, before deciding to turn the conversation around. "So what about you? This is a pretty lengthy side-trip for an officer of the law. Aren't you going a little out of your jurisdiction?"

The Jenny scowled. "It's none of your business."

I frowned at that. "But it is. We're taking up the time you could be using to keep the streets clean, and enforcing the law, right?"

She gripped the wheel tighter, her white gloves creaking as her hands tightened within. "I_said_ it's none of your business."

Sitting back, I shrugged. "If you say so. But if you get into trouble with your chief, don't go blaming us."

The car screeched to a halt. "Alright, that's enough. Out."

Blinking in confusion, I sat up a little straighter, "What?"

"You heard me, out of the car," she demanded, leaning over and opening my door for me.

I looked around, spotting a sign ahead that announced Sandgem town a good ten miles still, with Jubilife around the next corner.

"We're still a town away," I explained.

The Jenny shrugged, before waving Shinji, who was climbing out of the car, back. "You three stay, the Princess and I need to have a little chat."

Before anyone could protest, the Officer had grabbed my arm and dragged me off into the treeline beside the road.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" I demanded, when she finally stopped.

"Alright, I'm tired of playing around. You aren't a princess, anymore than I'm a Nurse Joy, so cut the crap."

I scowled. "There were far easier ways to say that than dragging me off into the bushes."

She shook her head. "Not unless I wanted to have to deal with your little gang as well."

I opened my mouth to protest, but she waved me to silence. "Can it, I've seen the way they defer to your judgement, even your so-called bodyguard. It's obvious you aren't a princess, just as it's obvious that girl Mei tends to act like it when she's nearby."

"And Shinji and Ranma?" I asked, before wincing.

"So It's Ranma? Is Shinji the boy's real name? And why was Ranma a man before Mei woke him up."

Wincing again, I shrugged apologetically. "You saw that, huh?"

She scowled at me. "Of_ course_ I saw it! Kind of hard to miss, what with her lying on her back. Those breasts couldn't have flattened out that much!"

Sighing, I leaned against a nearby tree. "So what are you asking? What do you want to know?"

She shook her head in exasperation. "I want to know who you really are. Where you're really from. Why you're here, pretending to be royalty from a city that doesn't exist... and if you pose a threat to the people or pokémon in this region or any other."

I smiled. "Well then, to answer your last question, I'll tell you right away I pose no threat to you, your jurisdiction, the people or pokémon of this region or any other... or the world in general."

She scowled. "A threat to a region, I could maybe see, but the world's a little out of your league, I think."

I shook my head, "I may not know much about what's gone on, but I recall hearing about an incident involving the three Legendary Birds, Lugia, and world-wide weather pattern changes that would have been catastrophic if they had continued."

She frowned. "Where did you hear about that?"

I grinned. "Does it matter? If you have any idea of what I'm talking about, you've probably read at least some reports concerning it. One man could ruin this world if properly motivated."

"And that's supposed to reassure me?" She asked, her frown deepening.

Sighing, I waggled a finger at her, "I wasn't threatening you or your world, merely stating a fact. I pose no threat, and therefore, why I'm here shouldn't concern you."

"Then why won't you explain it? And what about my other questions?" She challenged.

I shrugged, "What about them?" I pulled out my NERV ID, which was still stuck in my wallet. "Here's an ID from the last place I stayed at for a while."

She took it, studying it before frowning. "These are some impressive anti-forgery markings..." she mumbled. "Lyla Kino, Sub-Commander NERV, Security Clearance Ultraviolet..." she read, before shrugging and handing it back. "Well, it's very impressive, but I've never heard of NERV, or seen any ID like that, so for all I know, it could just be an elaborate fake."

I smirked, slipping the wallet back into my pocket. "Call it what you will, but Shinji has one too, as well as Mei."

"But not Ranma?" she asked.

I frowned, "Ranma joined us after NERV and Eva," I said quietly.

She shrugged. "Those words don't mean anything to me."

I shook my head with a sad smile. "Of course they wouldn't. There isn't a person on this planet that would recognize them, I wouldn't think." Aside, that is, from Nabiki, Makoto, Rei and Maya, though I didn't really feel like telling Jenny that just now.

"On this planet? What are you saying, that you're from another world?" She asked skeptically.

"Exactly," I replied, trying to keep my face as honest as I could.

"You can't be serious," she replied flatly. When I didn't respond to that, she frowned, "You're right, you aren't a danger to anyone. You're a danger to yourself! When we get to Jubilife, I'm going to take you to someone who can handle this kind of thing."

I shook my head, frowning. "What if I can prove it to you?"

She scowled at me. "Oh? How? Like you wanted to prove to Professor Rowan that you're royalty? I'm not an idiot, you know."

I smiled. "Of_that_, I'm totally aware, and will even agree with you about. That said, however, I _can _prove it, but as I told the Nurse Joy, I'd only like to do it once, because the more I do, the more likely it is that someone or something might see. _You_, of all people, should understand the importance of not showing your hand right away."

Jenny's scowl deepened. "And what's _that _supposed to mean?"

I shrugged in response, turning my back to her and crossing my arms. "You tell me. You're the one who won't even talk about her job, much less her past or anything else. I'm merely going by what I know, or have been told."

Behind me, I heard her sigh. "Fine. What is it you're asking for, exactly?"

I turned, slipping my hands in my pockets. "If we're going to bargain, first tell me what you want."

She frowned. "Why should I go first?"

I smiled, then _moved_, darting behind her so quickly that she didn't have time to jerk in surprise or anything before I was behind her, talking quietly into her ear over her shoulder. "Because-" I started, causing her to leap away from me with a strangled yelp and a scowl.

"If I had wanted to, I could have incapacitated you a dozen times over. And if you had tried anything, I would have. I've been as courteous as should be expected, considering the circumstances, and you've already judged me and condemned me without any proof. All I'm asking is what _you_ plan to do if you're right." I explained, while she breathed heavily, eyes never leaving mine.

"I... just want to know what you're up to... And If I'm right, then you're a danger to yourself, if not others... up to and including the world at large. If you are incapable of proving what you've claimed, then I want your word you'll adhere to any punishment or rehabilitation assigned to you by a court of law."

I nodded, "you'll have it..." I said, trailing off as I considered her wager.

She crossed her arms. "I sense a stipulation coming up."

I shook my head. "On the contrary, you sense the other shoe dropping. If I am to agree to your terms, then it's only fair that you agree to mine."

"And what's that?" She asked darkly.

Frowning, I shook my head. "You think I'm a crazy person, incapable of rational thought, so you're taking this lightly. _Too_ lightly. I want it on your honor, your badge, _and_ your life, that you'll adhere to whatever agreement we'll make."

She scowled. "I never asked that of _you_."

I nodded. "Like I said, you think I'm incapable of rational thought, so if you were right, you'd have me committed, whether I voluntarily allowed it or not. I'm merely asking that you put up as much in this; after all, it's rather hard to apply for a job if you've ever been a mental patient... and that's if I were released. I could end up spending my entire life there. I think my request is fairly reasonable, in that light."

She frowned, but nodded. "Fine. I swear on my honor, my badge, and my life, to adhere to whatever stipulations you propose... within reason."

Frowning at the final two words, I crossed my arms. "Now we're talking semantics. Let me at least voice my request, before you try to worm your way out of them."

She opened her mouth to protest, but I waved it off. "My only request is that, _when _I prove to _you _that I am actually from another world, you actively help propagate the story that I'm merely royalty from a previously-undiscovered city in an unknown area of the world."

She blinked, before looking confused. "Why not the truth?"

I scowled at her, "You might be smarter than the average person, but you can't be the smartest on this world. It's a safe bet people won't believe something as radical as that, even if it _is_ true. On the other hand, it's already been proven that the population is readily willing to believe something as odd as me being royalty, so if that's what it takes to move around this world unimpeded, then I'd prefer to have the backing of a few noteworthy natives to help cement that cover story into place."

"Noteworthy natives?" She asked.

I nodded. "Sure. Who doesn't trust an Officer Jenny?" I asked, smiling. "Aside from that, there's a Nurse Joy who will probably believe me if you and Rowan tell her it's true... and the Professor himself. Why, do you doubt an endorsement from three such people _wouldn't_ convince the majority of the population?"

She frowned, before mumbling, "you're insane, but you're also annoyingly insightful."

I nodded, before holding my hand out. "Are we agreed, then?"

She stared at my hand warily, before shrugging and taking it. With a single pump, she let go, and turned back towards the road.

When she realized I hadn't moved, she turned and frowned at me. "Coming? You have some proof to give me, after all?"

I smiled. "I do indeed. Tell you what, Jubilife is directly north of Sandgem according to the map, right?" I asked, to which she nodded. Smiling, I continued "You take the others there, and I'll meet you in town when you get there."

She looked angry. "And let you out of my sight? I don't think so."

I returned the look. "Mei, Shinji, and Ranma are the only friends I have. Trust me when I say I wouldn't ever abandon them. You'll also have my backpack, which contains everything I own on this _planet._ If you must, consider them hostages. And consider this just a glimpse of the proof I'll be showing you later on."

Her frown deepened, and her gloves creaked again as her fists tightened. Finally, she nodded, before saying through clanged teeth, "Fine." Turning to go, she called back over her shoulder, "If you aren't there, I'm putting out an APB to every Police Officer _on the planet_ to detain you with extreme prejudice."

I smirked. "I wouldn't have it any other way. Meet you in Sandgem."

When she climbed back into the car, I could tell the others were asking her where I was, but she pulled away, tires shooting chunks of dirt behind her in twin rooster tails as she took off for Jubilife City, and Sandgem beyond.

Smirking, I looked around to see if anyone was nearby, before taking off into the air, hoping I wouldn't get lost as I gained enough altitude to be difficult to spot from the ground, before taking off southward to meet her.

* * *

Author's Notes: And another one bites the dust! 

I know by now, it's become somewhat apparent that I'm not really doing much with Pokémon in this part, yet. Looking it over, I can't really say I've mentioned any, and while I could go back and add them, I'm not going to. I'm in the Pokémon world, and I've got plans that involve Pokémon, but this is a character-based fic, so my focus isn't really on the Pokémon or even a trainer (Of course, as a First-person perspective SI Fic, that's kind of a given...).

Rest assured that I intend to talk about pokémon a lot, if you're afraid that I've been neglecting them... and on the flip side, I guarantee I'll continue character development and character-based writing so that those of you who don't really know (or care) much about pokémon won't be left behind.

As for the request for Pokédex entries... well... I would, but I'd have to make them up, since most pages don't really bother with the longer, more descriptive entries found in things like pokegirls fics. While I didn't mention that Eno was a Breloom in the last chapter, from now on, I'll endeavor to list all the spotted pokémon in the Authors notes if they aren't listed in the chapter itself, though I'll be getting a Pokédex soon in-story, so that will probably be a moot point by the end of the next chapter.

Finally, thanks again to Matt and Nate, who have continually ensured my chapters aren't as horrible as they are when I send them their way.


	6. Chapter 5

Comparing an unknown countryside to a map can be confusing, especially if the map is only in your memory. Fortunately, the directions I had were fairly simple.

"Next town south of Jubilife," I mumbled to myself, as I coasted over said city lazily. In an attempt to keep myself less visible to the hundreds of beings below, I'd risen far above the ground, and now I was wondering where Officer Jenny's car had gone.

Not that it really mattered, I knew. The large city ahead, complete with skyscrapers parks, and statues, was obviously Jubilife. And so long as I didn't take too long, the Officer escorting Shinji, Mei, and Ranma would most definitely have to take it slow through the city.

Further ahead, about halfway to the horizon, I could see another group of buildings, though far smaller than Jubilife's sprawling expanse. "And that must be Sandgem town," I muttered, before taking off towards it.

After a short flight, I was over the city, dropping altitude only after I was over the forest to the south of the city. It wasn't as thick as Eterna Forest, but with a wide path connecting it to the nearby towns, it was a safe conclusion that all but the most adventurous of travelers would probably not see me.

Unfortunately, while trainers might not see me, I had forgotten to take into consideration the fact that this was a world covered in pokémon.

"Manene," something small and pink said, hopping out from behind a bush to land in front of me.

When I leaned down to look closer at it, it copied my movements. I scowled. "It looks like a little Mr. Mime," I stated, remembering how dumb-looking the Psychic-type pokémon was.

"Ma ne ne ne ma ne ma ne ne," It echoed.

I smiled darkly. "A mime, indeed," I mumbled, before taking to the air again, hovering a few feet over the ground. The little pokémon stood up on its toes trying to copy me, and I quickly began weaving through the air, glad the little clearing I was in had enough room for me to maneuver. Finally, once I had seen enough, I took off as fast as I could, into the trees.

The little pokémon tried to do the same, only I'd chosen this angle with care. Only after taking off had it realized there was a rather large tree in the way, and with a resounding thud, it fell to the ground as I continued on my way.

Unfortunately, my act of cruelty hadn't gone unnoticed. Despite the clear path ahead of me, I flew into an invisible barrier, rolling against it at the last second to lessen the impact.

"Barrierd," a voice said, before a Mr. Mime stepped out from behind a tree with a scowl on its painted-looking face.

"Cute," I mumbled, scowling. While the little one had been cute in a "don't evolve... _ever_" kind of way, this, its evolved form, was nothing but... well... dumb looking. I was never a fan of clowns, and this pokémon looked far too clownish for me to ever appreciate it.

"Barr..." it growled, pointing back the way I'd come.

I shrugged. "Sorry, but I have somewhere to be, and little time to play around. Why don't you go play with your baby mime," I said, floating back. Unfortunately, I hit another invisible wall.

Scowling, I let my wings out. "Alright, then. You want to play, too?" The Mr. Mime had taken a step back when the tendrils of light had emerged from behind me, and I pressed my advantage, floating towards it and sending them forward to strain at their full length, as if trying to stretch out and grip the pokémon before me.

"Ree?" It said, questioningly, as it took another step back. Stopping the act, I let the wings relax, so that they merely waved in the pokémon's general direction. After a moment of this, the Mr. Mime tentatively reached forward to touch one, and I smirked as its hand impacted with a barrier it hadn't created.

"Two can play that game," I said, before the tendrils of light whipped upward, before the left one elongated, the right disappearing. With double the length, the left wing-tendril shot behind me with a crack like a bullwhip, before striking the Mr. Mime's barrier like a javelin traveling near the speed of sound.

There was a shattering noise, and I saw the Mr. Mime's eyes widen in shock as its barrier collapsed. Smirking, I bowed mockingly in the air to the pokémon, before turning around and heading into the forest.

This time, my traveling went uncontested.

Unlike Eterna City, which was fairly large and developed, Sandgem felt a bit more rural, with few buildings more than a single-story in height, and decent-sized yards around each peaceful-looking house.

Unfortunately, rural and peaceful didn't mean small, and I found myself seriously considering taking to the air to avoid walking down one more dirt road between house after house.

Finally, I spotted the red-roofed Pokémon Center of the town, this one smaller than Eterna's, but still large enough to house a small number of trainers passing through. Making my way inside, I greeted the Nurse Joy with a smile, doing my best to avoid mentioning anything that had to do with Tokyo or my supposed Royalty, and simply asking where Professor Rowan's lab was.

"Oh? You look a little old to be starting your Pokémon Journey," she questioned, though it was in a polite tone.

Doing my best to force a blush, I quietly replied, "I'm... a little late, starting... and older than I look, as well. It's not something I'm proud of, but now that I'm here..." I trailed off, and she nodded in understanding.

"Don't worry about it, I know a couple people like that. Or with the opposite problem, which is just as bad- if not worse- at times. Why just the other day-" A shout from down a side-hall cut off her story, and I had to suppress a smile as she asked to be excused for a moment.

"Take your time," I said, hoping she wouldn't take too long. Officer Jenny should be arriving soon with the others.

As she walked away, I glanced down at the Chansey, who looked up at me with a little smile. Crouching down so that I was closer to-eye level with the Egg-pokémon, I smiled.

"And you're a Chansey," I said to myself, before shrugging and examining it. As I did, however, I started to talk to it. "I dunno how well I'll do, all things considered, while I'm here... but I suppose that's how most people feel... even if they aren't all in the same situation."

"Luck?" It asked, rocking its whole body to the side questioningly.

I shrugged. "Not exactly an adventure like any you've seen before, I'd imagine, but I suppose you've seen your fair share of the unusual."

The little pokémon shook its body at that, looking slightly sad as it pointed at the pokémon center around it.

I chuckled. "That's a crappy excuse, and you know it. Just because you work here doesn't mean you don't get to see things. I'm sure you've gotten your share of odd injuries to heal, on hundreds of different pokémon. Even if you weren't the ones battling, I know a little about forensics."

"Luck-Lucky?" It asked.

"Forensics? You know...? Like looking at a wound and figuring out what caused it, and how. The depth of a wound for projectile speed, the edges of a cut for how sharp a cutting-implement was, the shape of a bruise to figure out what kind of blunt object was used... You are trained in all that and more, right?"

The pokémon nodded, and I smiled. "Well then, like I said, you may not see it happen, but you certainly heard about it later, if not from the pokémon, then from Nurse Joy asking the trainer what happened, right?"

Chansey shrugged, and I reached out and patted it on the head. "Don't sell yourself short. Your job is important here... and I suppose, somewhere in this conversation was some sort of analogy for me, about having to do my job to the fullest or something," I mumbled, trailing off as the egg pokémon watched me. Finally, it took the egg out of the pouch on its stomach and held it out to me.

I smiled but held up my hands, "I'm sorry, but I don't really have any pokémon yet. I'll probably get a starter from the professor, or there's a Misdreavus in Eterna waiting for me... But at the moment, I'm kind of running solo," I explained.

"I might be able to do something about that," Someone said from behind me. I jumped to my feet, or tried to, not having realized I'd kind of moved under the counter while talking to the Chansey, and smacking my head against it as I tried to rise through it. Falling back down to the ground in more shock than pain, I gently rubbed my head, before climbing to my feet and turning to look at the Nurse Joy.

"What-" I winced as I rubbed the sore spot on my head, before trying again. "What do you mean?"

The Nurse Joy held up a pokéball. "I heard part of your conversation with Chansey there, and couldn't help but be impressed with apparent understanding of what she was saying."

I quirked a brow. "It's not so much understanding, as it is guessing and common sense..." I explained, before grinning. "And body language," I added.

She nodded, glancing down at Chansey, who was still holding out the egg, before tilting her head to the side in the same questioning manner Chansey had earlier. "You said you knew about forensics... are you planning on being a police officer or nurse when you complete your journey?" She asked, though there was something that made me think there was more to that question than what she merely said.

I shook my head, smiling sadly, "While both professions had once been of interest to me-" I started. This was true, but probably not in the sense that they thought. Molecular Biology and Genetic Engineering wouldn't really be a 'nurse' job, as much as a Doctor-doing-research kind-of job. And I had been in the Army, which was police-like, just in another country. "I've kind of set myself up for a job that I never really expected when I was into those kinds of things. It's pretty much locked into place," I explained.

She nodded, then asked what kind of job it was.

"Leadership," I explained, with a sad smile. "It's also political, I suppose... and vaguely militant," I explained, before frowning. "Think of it as something like... an obligation of one's own making."

She nodded, before glancing at the Chansey again. "I see. I won't say I fully understand... but Chansey trusts you, and she's pretty good about that kind of thing. And you're a little older than the usual trainer, so I think you might be able to handle the challenge a slightly irregular pokémon might offer."

"Oh?" I asked; my curiosity piqued.

With a silent nod, she waved the pokéball at me, before frowning and looking back the way she'd come. "Apparently, an aspiring local trainer didn't get what he wanted in a trade, and intended to abandon this baby pokémon."

Thinking back, I frowned, asking, "Aren't you supposed to do that here, though? Release pokémon via a Pokémon center?"

She shook her head. "Not quite like that, no. You have to let me know, and I'll send it to the center closest to its natural habitat so that it isn't alone in an unknown place... and that goes doubly-so for a newly-hatched pokémon, like this little guy."

I nodded. "That makes sense. Even if there were no natural predators around, an inexperienced pokémon would be hard pressed to survive in an unknown environment."

She smiled. "See? I knew you'd understand. Here, I want you to take this. The Professor may be the official league contact for starter pokémon, but all Nurse Joy's are qualified to hand them out as well. And I feel you'll do well with this one."

"What is it?" I asked, frowning slightly. I don't know what I'd do if she handed me a Zubat or Ditto... or, god-forbid, a Magikarp.

She smiled, before holding the ball out. "It's a Ralts."

I frowned again, not recognizing the name. "I don't think I'm familiar with that species," I said, hoping it wasn't anything hideous or dumb-looking.

She shook her head with a slight smile, "They're psychic-types from the Hoenn region. There's been an upswing in their popularity lately, but they're very hard to get here in Sinnoh, and a bit more difficult to handle than the usual starters, due to their empathy."

Quirking a brow, I reached out and tentatively took the pokéball. "Empathy, huh?"

Nurse joy nodded, before crouching down and taking the still-offered egg from Chansey and handing it to me. As I was examining the ball, I didn't think much about it, and stuffed the egg in a pocket while the Nurse Joy explained it to me a little more.

"They're notoriously hard to find, because they can sense a trainer before they can get close enough to be battled or captured."

I nodded in understanding, before pressing the button on the pokéball, enlarging it, before taking a breath and tossing the ball. Once more, a pokéball I had thrown opened up, the red light materializing into a short, white-and green pokémon that looked like a toddler in an oversized shirt.

"..." I stared, my mouth hanging open. Of all things to expect, it wasn't that. The Ralts looked around the room, before turning to look at the Nurse Joy and me. "Well, that wasn't really what I expected," I said, as I crouched down to get a closer look at it.

The green, helmet-like hair had two red horns sticking out of it, but they weren't sharp, looking more like two halves of a disc that had been stuck to it, dividing its two sides from the top. When it turned its head to look at me more closely, I frowned, before reaching down and picking it up carefully below its arms.

"What did you expect?" Nurse Joy asked, as I held it up and smiled at the big, curious red eyes that were all but hidden by its helmet of hair.

"I dunno," I replied, as it squeaked, its tiny mouth the only visible feature on its face when looked at head-on. "Something closer to an Abra, I suppose," I elaborated, before holding it over my shoulder like I would a baby. A moment after getting there, however, it started to squirm, before twisting around and sitting on my shoulder, with one hand on my head to steady it.

Quirking a brown and trying hard not to laugh, I glanced at it's reflection in a nearby pane of glass, and asked "Comfy?"

When it nodded back, I couldn't help but laugh, causing it to smile as well. Nurse Joy smiled, too, before she continued explaining.

"Abras aren't too uncommon here in Sinnoh. Both species have three generations, but Ralts here has two evolutionary paths, unlike Abra's single path."

Turning to look at her, I frowned, "What was the reason the trainer had for wanting to release this little guy?" I asked, shrugging my shoulder and earning me another squeak as the Ralts was jostled slightly.

She frowned. "That Ralts is male, and he apparently wanted a female he could breed."

"Couldn't he have used a Ditto?" I asked in confusion.

She smiled. "Your understanding of pokémon certainly isn't lacking, is it? I can see why you've earned yourself a Pokédex. And you're right; a Ditto _could_ be used, if he had one. Which he doesn't. And I get the impression that one of the other balls on his belt contained the male he intended to breed the female Ralts with."

"Ah," I replied, not quite sure what she meant by that, but unwilling to sacrifice part of my standing by showing my ignorance. Time to change the subject: "what are a Ralts' evolutions?"

The Nurse Joy smiled, but shook her head. "I think I've told you enough to get by. A pokémon journey isn't just about collecting a team, it's also about learning. I'd be doing you a disservice if I explained_everything_ to you."

I grinned. "Not that I don't believe you, but I can only imagine how often you come across a trainer who doesn't understand that."

She shrugged. "It's more common than you think... but then, most trainers don't have a Pokédex."

I frowned. "Not to ruin my reputation with what may seem to be a dumb question, but I thought all trainers got a Pokédex, most just didn't bother using them."

She shook her head. "That's an easy enough mistaken assumption to make, since a Pokédex isn't a rare item... But no, a Pokédex is awarded to potential trainers who, through observation, merit, or testing, are proven to have an above-average understanding of pokémon; both as a species, and as friends of humanity."

Nodding, I was about to ask more about the Pokédexes when I spotted something out of the corner of my eye. Turning towards the doors, I sighed as Officer Jenny's car turned outside, heading towards the Professor's Lab. "Looks like my friends have arrived... Time to talk to the Professor," I said, before turning back to Nurse Joy.

"Thank you for your time... and for this Ralts," I said, bowing in thanks as I headed for the door.

"It was my pleasure. Please stop by if you're ever in the area again. I'd like to know how your journey goes, if you can spare the time." She replied, with a smile.

I turned and waved, before pushing the door open and stepping out into the sunlight.

Well, I could fly and beat her, I suppose, but with Nurse Joy probably watching me through the window, that might be a little too dangerous to try. However, from inside the Pokémon Center, she couldn't see much of the houses, so there was one method of movement I could use that wouldn't make people scream.

"Hold on tight, Ralts," I said, as I approached the nearest house. When the little pokémon had shifted so that it was holding onto my head with both hands, I smirked, looking around for anyone who might be watching, before leaping onto the roof of the house.

The little Ralts, apparently empathic enough to understand what I had intended, shouted in glee as I started running for the large structure to the southwest. A moving cloud of dust approaching it told me where officer Jenny's car was, and I raced ahead, doing my best to avoid jostling the pokémon on my shoulders free as I leaped from roof-to-roof across yards I had earlier appreciated for their size. A couple times, I'd had to fly slightly to extend my leap so that I didn't run into a wall, but for the most part, I got by without using anything more than the Martial Arts I got with a wish, and after a minute or racing, I landed outside the Professor's lab, just as Officer Jenny was pulling to a stop.

"Hey, thanks!" I called, reaching in and pulling my backpack out of the car while Officer Jenny stared.

"You! But... how?" She asked, while Mei, Ranma and Shinji all climbed out of the car.

Shrugging on my pack, I grinned. "Didn't I say it would all be explained inside? And, really, I think I already told you the truth. You just didn't believe me."

With a scowl, she turned the engine off, and climbed out of the car, before pointing at the Ralts on my shoulder. "And what's that?"

"A Ralts," I explained, as Mei Shinji and Ranma looked at it. Under the scrutiny of four others, the Ralts shivered, and crouched behind my head. "You want to go back inside your ball?" I asked quietly. When it gripped my head harder, I shrugged, shoving the pokéball back into my pocket beside the egg Chansey had given me.

"You know you're not really supposed to have any pokémon," Officer Jenny started, before I smiled.

"Actually, the local Nurse Joy gave this one to me. And once we get inside, and I prove to you I'm not crazy, none of this will matter..." I said, before heading inside.

As we pushed our way into the rather cavernous building, Ranma hissed from beside me, "you_will_ teach me how to fly."

Smirking, I nodded nonchalantly. "Sure, sure; just as soon as I find an Angel willing to give up its core to you." Ranma grunted, and I fixed her with a glare. "Trust me; it's not something I would recommend. I already told you what you're going to have to do."

Ranma nodded, as an older man with a thick white moustache approached us.

"So, you all must be the group Marleena called me about," the old man said.

"Professor Rowan?" I asked, hesitantly.

He turned to look at me, his eyes narrowing slightly. "I _also _got a call from a concerned Nurse Joy about you..." When I signed, his eyes narrowed further. "I can see from your reaction that you are aware of what that call was about."

"The call was made out of a valid concern for a pokémon who acted frightened by me. However, jumping to conclusions about the reasons behind its behavior is an ill-advised action to take. I fully intend to tell you my take on what happened, and why I feel the Misdreavus seems so skittish. Then after that, I ask that you- as a pokémon expert- examine the ghost in question to hopefully see if what I tell you _is_ the truth, as far as you and Officer Jenny here can tell." I stated, flatly.

"Spoken like someone used to dealing with biased prosecutors," the professor stated, without cracking a smile. "Officer, does the young lady's suggestion have merit?" he asked the Jenny, who was staring at me suspiciously.

"What? I... yes. Yes, it does have merit. Though I feel there's something more here we're not being told," she replied.

I nodded. "There are a lot of things I've yet to tell... and some secrets I simply will not tell, though they're irrelevant to this particular..._situation_," I explained, before reaching up and taking Ralts from my shoulder and setting him on a nearby table.

"First off, in my own defense, I'd like to point out that if I were an evil-minded, pokémon-abusing crazy-" I pinned Jenny with a glare as I said the word 'crazy' before continuing, "then I'd probably not be able to get close to this Ralts, which is an empathic psychic pokémon which more often than not will run from any approaching trainer."

When the professor nodded, I shrugged my pack off, setting it beside the table I'd set Ralts on, before leaning against the table nonchalantly. Mei, Shinji, and Ranma set their items down as well, and we launched into the pre-fabricated explanation we had agreed upon concerning Tokyo and our supposed past on this world.

"Well," Professor Rowan stated as we finished. "That's certainly an interesting history lesson... And I'm sad to say I sent my assistants away, as one of them was at one point an aspiring archaeologist. I'm sure she would have found that far more fascinating than I ever could have."

Blinking at that, I shrugged, as he turned to the Officer Jenny. "Officer, your thoughts?"

Jenny nodded, apparently organizing her thoughts, before answering. "It certainly sounded coherent enough. At least what we've heard so far... thought that may just mean their answers were rehearsed. Without interrogating each person separately and in detail, we can't be sure, but I've been... assured... that if they are telling the truth, I'll be given enough proof." She watched me as she said that last part, and I nodded once.

"Well, your origins aside, you still have to explain to us why you think that Misdreavus is frightened of you... or by you, as you seemed to have implied earlier." The professor said.

"Well now... _that_ is something I'm going to have to request we go outside for."

"Oh?" he asked, though he stood up from his high-backed chair and indicated a door set into the back of the room.

As everyone filed outside, I grabbed Ranma, and whispered, "Get ready to fight all out."

As we gathered outside, I set Ralts down on a nearby bench, before turning to the Professor and Officer Jenny.

"As you know, Tokyo has no native Pokémon species, and the surrounding region is equally devoid of all but inanimate plant life. As such, humans have had to fill in the gaps, through training and technology. While we have little in the way of Technology with us to show you, I would be lying if I were to say the same about our training." I stated, smirking as I felt myself slip back into my public-speaking voice.

Pointing at Ranma, I continued, "Ranma here is my bodyguard, as I've said, but that's an understatement in the term as you know it. She's also a friend and personal trainer of mine..." Ranma looked a little confused by this, but nodded as I spoke, before she started stretching, anticipating what was coming. "Before I explain everything, however, I feel a demonstration is in order, so that you'll be more likely to understand..." I paused, before shaking my head, "No... You'll be more likely to _believe_ what I intend to say."

With that, I lunged at Ranma, who leapt back in surprise, her back flip taking her clear of my immediate range and into the lower branches of a nearby tree. "Thanks for the warning," she shouted, before leaping down at me.

This time, it was my turn to evade. Or so the officer and professor thought, as Ranma approached from around twenty feet away on an easily predictable- if impossible- path.

Instead, I waved my hands, and suddenly Ranma impacted with my AT-Field, the orange concentric hexagons flaring once before she pushed off, and landed in a crouch before me.

"What...?" the officer cried, before gasping as I took to the air, flying at Ranma without touching the ground between us the entire way. Fist cocked back, I smirked at Ranma, who returned it with a glare. Before I got there, however, Ranma fell back into a fighting stance, and when I got there, she grabbed my arm, and converted the punch into a throw that sent me up towards the tree she'd been in shortly before.

"Starting with the flying and everything so soon?" She called up tauntingly. I shrugged, halting my flight about 12 feet above the ground, where I hovered, arms crossed.

"You're the one who lives for the thrill of the fight. I prefer to end things as quickly as possible," I explained.

Ranma shrugged, before leaping at me, and I grinned as I caught his kick with a block and began sparring with him in earnest. He may have been dense at times, but he could catch on quick if it involved fighting and martial arts. For a few minutes we fought on the ground, using only jumps to gain altitude briefly, and Ranma didn't bother going all out, preferring instead to test my skills. Finally, however, I leapt back, holding up a hand.

"Now, Ranma, it's tome for you to show me what you've got," I said, willing an AT-Field into existence between us. When he realized what I meant, he kicked a few stones into the Field to find out where it was, before leaping at it, arm-cocked back.

"Katchu-Tehnshin Amiguriken!" He cried, raining hundreds of punches upon the Field, which flared into visibility and stayed that way throughout the assault. As it was mine, I could feel the assault on the edge of my senses, and knew that, despite the damage such an attack might do to an average person, compared to some of the weapons employed against the Angels' AT-Fields, I didn't have much to worry about from this attack. After another couple seconds, Ranma seemed to realize this too and leapt back with a smirk.

"Try this! Moko Takabisha!" he shouted, the ball of ki growing in his hands before he launched it at me, where it exploded against the AT-Field. Unlike the Amiguriken, which had barely registered, the Ki-blast was explosive and concentrated, and as such, a little warning went off somewhere in the back of my head that I was potentially under attack.

When the field didn't fall, Ranma gritted her teeth and held her hands out beside her. "Double Moko Takabisha!" The twin balls of destructive ki flashed out and exploded against the Field much like the smaller one from before had, bringing the barrier into existence as it held against the onslaught. When the dust died down, Ranma was let looking at me with a frown.

Realizing he'd pretty much run out of attacks he could easily employ, I dropped the field, and hovered over to him, making sure the Professor and Officer could see me as I gained some altitude, and suddenly concentrated on my wings. With a snap, the twin tendrils appeared, reaching out and grabbing Ranma by her leg before she could react and hoisting her up to dangle between me and Professor Rowan.

"As you can see... through training, we've been able to enhance our bodies to a degree most people would say was impossible," I explained.

"... Could you please let me down," Ranma asked, as her shirt bunched up in her armpits, exposing her chest to a suddenly red-faced Professor before I flung her away.

"I... see..." he replied, doing his best to ignore a grumbling Ranma as she pulled her shirt back into place.

"What... what was that?" Officer Jenny asked, her face unnaturally white.

"Martial arts, for the most part. Near the end there, most of what you saw was hereditary," I explained.

"Hereditary?" Professor Rowan asked, obviously intrigued.

Smirking, I did my best to sound sincere as I dredged up our pre-fabricated stories, as well as everything I knew of hereditary traits. "Yes... My family, the Imperial family, has been able to create those barriers and wings of light for ages. The Flying, however, was a combination of inherited preferential affinity and training. Anyone can learn it, with enough training and skill. Ranma herself is working on it now, actually."

"And what of Ranma's abilities?" Rowan asked.

"Ranma's abilities are trained, but his family, and many of those who serve as bodyguards and soldiers, have an affinity for the martial arts. While anyone can be trained up to that level, few are willing to devote their life to Martial Arts like Ranma has. So usually those who naturally lean that way follow that lifestyle..." I turned to look at the Officer Jenny, who was frowning in thought as she watched Ranma dust herself off. "I think you, yourself, would understand how some families tend to lean towards a specific profession."

Jenny's head spun, her attention coming to me quickly as she instantly understood what I meant. Rowan seemed to follow what I was saying as well. "It certainly would make sense. Perhaps a long time ago, a Jenny and Joy from your Tokyo left to start a family out here, and over time... well..." he shrugged, and I nodded in understanding.

"I'd have to ask my mother about that. Genealogy was never my strong point," Jenny said, shooting me a glare when Rowan's back was turned.

I shrugged as the Professor coughed to get everyone's attention. "I think I've seen enough to guess what has gotten that Misdreavus so shaken up. Nevertheless, I'd like to hear it from you," he said, nodding at me, "before we can conclude this meeting. Is there anything else you'd like to show us, or can we return inside?"

I was about to shake my head, but before I could, Mei spoke up. "Actually, there is one final thing."

"Oh? What's that?" The Professor asked, and I couldn't help but let my eyes widen when I realized she'd pulled a blaster from her pack.

"Is that a-" Jenny asked, eyes wide, as she started to reach for something on her belt. I grabbed her arm to halt her, leaning in to whisper into her ear, "she's a captain of one of my ships, and is certified to use it... and she's had it on her all this time. If we'd wanted to do anything, you've already seen what we could have done and how little a chance you'd have to stop us. Please, at least give us the benefit of the doubt."

As I was speaking, the Professor had approached the clone with a frown, apparently recognizing the object in her hand as well. Jenny pulled her hand free, but left whatever it was on her belt she had been going for alone. "I'll trust you for now... but if I don't feel comfortable with the way she handles it, I'm going to have to confiscate it."

I nodded, knowing Mei'd be the least likely to do anything foolish with the weapon.

"This is a slightly modified DH-17 blaster pistol, one of the few examples of Imperial Tokyo technology we have here. Before I begin, however, I'd like to state, for everyone's safety, that Lyla and I are the only two people here qualified to use this weapon, and when I say qualified, I mean that. There are strict rules concerning the weapons manufactured and in use by the Empire, and nobody unqualified will be allowed to touch this weapon or the one Princess Lyla has, without killing us first." Mei stated, meeting Professor Rowan and Officer Jenny's gaze flatly.

When they nodded in understanding, she hefted the pistol, tilting it to display parts to them as she explained, but always keeping it pointed across the field, and never at anyone listening.

She briefly explained its stun-setting, as well as its ammo capacity and the basics of a full-powered shot works, before waving everyone back and firing a few times under each setting. Officer Jenny was visibly intrigued, though she also appeared somewhat unhappy with the presence of the weapon. Professor Rowan, however, had a frown on his face as Mei finally safed and stored the weapon.

"While I commend your designers on the capability to design a stun setting, I'm not at all pleased with the danger such a weapon represents, and the possibilities it poses," he said, as we moved inside.

"Professor, before we left, Seele had decimated Tokyo-3, one of the outlying cities surrounding Tokyo itself. Understand that when I say there was nothing left alive there, I mean exactly that: nothing living, at all. From microbes to humans, pets to plants, anything organic was reduced to a chemical soup we refer to as LCL," Mei stated.

"That's... that's horrible!" Officer jenny exclaimed, and I nodded.

"It's actually worse, but I don't want to upset you or give you the wrong idea. The invading soldiers and some of the defending forces died, but we managed to safely evacuate all the civilians living there and surviving defenders before they succeeded in wiping out the city. It was a hollow victory for them, with so many of our forces surviving, and so many of theirs sacrificed in their greed for power," I explained.

Jenny nodded, while Rowan seemed to stew on this for a minute. Finally, he sighed. "While I still cannot personally condone the creation of such a weapon, it is out of my hands, and from what you've said, it's far less a threat than whatever weapon could devastate an entire city so thoroughly. Still, I must ask: does your empire have any weapons of equal power?"

I shook my head sadly. "That question is harder to answer than you might think. Yes, we have weapons capable of doing a similar level of damage... but while Seele uses a phenomena called a 'Third Impact' to sterilize, our 'Base-Delta-Zero' is an entirely different process."

"With the same results?" Jenny asked.

I nodded. "Worse, actually, since the result is an area coated in radioactive lava and little atmosphere."

He nodded solemnly. "I'm almost sorry I asked. That such ability will one day be placed in your hands, I can understand your desire to get away, if for only a vacation of sorts. Yet I must ask one last question. Does your being here pose a threat to Sinnoh from either this People's Republic of Seele or your own Empire of Tokyo?"

I shook my head. "Absolutely not. They do not know where we are, but they cannot risk antagonizing this region or any other and getting pulled into a fight on multiple fronts. I promise you that no harm will befall you or any other. On my word as Emperor."

"Future Empress, don't you mean?" Jenny asked.

"A promise made on her upcoming position is made on the chair's current title, and carries all the weight of the Emperor," Mei stated, quickly.

Both Rowan and Jenny seemed to accept that, and I sighed in relief, glad Mei'd come up with a cover for the slipup. Ralts patted me on the head and I smirked as I realized he'd probably sensed my relief.

During our conversation, I'd put him back on my shoulder, and he'd sat there patiently as we'd talked.

"How can you promise Seele won't launch an attack?" Jenny asked, finally.

"Before we left, a team led by Mei and some other Imperial Officers captured their leader... and as they destroyed Tokyo-3, we took out all their other leaders in a precision strike. They struck a dangerous blow that cost them almost everything. It will be years, if ever, before they're in any position to threaten us again," I said, softly.

"That's... impressive," the officer said, finally.

I nodded, before turning back to the Professor. "Anything else you'd like to know?"

He nodded. "Just one final thing: what do you think scared the Misdreavus about you?"

I smiled, glad we'd finished talking about Seele and Tokyo-3... while we'd saved the citizens of the fortress city, four-hundred plus Stormtroopers, as well as the entire rest of the world's population was far to great a cost to continue lying about the war in such a way, even if it did help make the story more convincing.

"Well, I'm not sure which Misdreavus it is, but when we entered what I suppose was Eterna forest, it was night time, and we eventually found ourselves surrounded by misdreavus' and facing a larger pokémon that looked kind of like a ghost with no limbs... a 'Mismagius,' according to the Nurse Joy. After I told the others to run, it attacked me, and I fought back, similar to how I fought Ranma."

"You fought a pokémon?"

I nodded, before shrugging. "It wasn't really that bad, aside from one hit that left me reeling."

"That you took a hit from a ghost-type in the middle of a battle and were left feeling nothing but disoriented is impressive," Rowan said.

I nodded. "Yeah, I wasn't sure what attack it was, but I was glad it only managed to hit me with one. I blocked or avoided the rest."

Rowan nodded, while the Officer Jenny looked somewhat upset, finally asking, "So why is this misdreavus frightened by you?"

I shrugged, "It's not that hard to figure out. They were all watching, and when it was over, and I'd knocked the Mismagius out of the fighting circle with a punch, I probably scared them all."

"So why was it following you?" Rowan asked.

I frowned, crossing my arms as I considered it. "Honestly? I have no clue. After the fight, the misdreavus' all started talking, and I kind of snuck off... I certainly didn't capture any of them, or make any of them follow me," I explained. "If it were here, we could ask it, of anyone can speak pokémon..."

The Professor went over to a cabinet, and pulled out a pokéball with a flourish. "It IS here, actually... but I doubt any of us here can understand it."

Reaching out for the ball, I smirked. "We don't really need to understand it. It just needs to be able to understand us, right?"

I tossed the ball, and it released the Misdreavus who once again hid behind Officer Jenny after spotting me.

"Alright, Misdreavus, I'm not going to hurt you, but you're going to have to come out and help us figure out why you're here," I said. The ghost peeked out from behind the Officer, who stood there calmly, and I sighed, waiting.

Finally, after a half-minute, it slowly drifted out into the center of the room, ignoring everyone as it watched me intently.

"Misdreavus, if you can understand me, can you nod your head?" It did so, and I smirked. "See? Intelligent, and capable of bridging the communications gap... _If_ shown the way."

"Impressive. I'd have suggested something similar had you not, but that you understand pokémon as well as you do already speaks highly of you," Rowan stated.

"Misdreavus, are you following me?" I asked. It nodded, and I sighed. "Well, that's that, then. Now to puzzle out why.

After a good fifteen minutes of yes and no questions, we'd established that the Misdreavus had been exiled from its pack for letting me into their territory and had been ordered to keep me out forever, or next time they'd attack it instead of me. It was afraid of me, however, because it had thought I beat up on ghost pokémon or something like that. We couldn't get too detailed an answer out of it, but when Ralts started talking to it, the question-and-answer session had ended, and when the two pokémon had finished, Misdreavus didn't seem nearly so jumpy around me.

"Well, I think that settles it. Officer Jenny, would you agree?" Rowan asked.

Shooting me a glare, the Officer nodded. "Yes. The Crown Princess of Tokyo has given me enough proof to clear her of any accusations and pending charges, and I'll reluctantly add that her understanding of pokémon in general is commendable, given her lack of upbringing around pokémon at all."

Rowan, who hadn't seen the glare, nodded his head, before opening a cabinet and pulling out four red devices, which he handed to each of us. Sitting down at a computer terminal, he asked us all our names, and diligently entered them, finally slamming a finger down on a key and causing all four Pokédexes to beep.

"There. You four have been entered into the system as Trainers from Tokyo... and are now registered to those Pokédexes." He paused, looking us over, before nodding to himself as he swiveled in his chair to look at us all.

"All pokémon trainers have pokémon, but not all trainers qualify for a Pokédex... a Pokédex is a symbol of potential... only trainers who display an aptitude for pokémon training are given a Pokédex, and wit that comes a responsibility to go above-and-beyond... I must ask that you four, much like those who have come before you, go out into the world and see and capture as many pokémon as you can. As you do, our understanding of pokémon can only grow, and, perhaps more importantly, your own understanding of both pokémon... and yourselves.

"Come with me," he said sternly, suddenly standing up. Without another word, he disappeared through a side door, and following him, we came into a room with a number of computers and laboratory equipment. "Two of you have already got a pokémon that can count as your starters, but you two," he said, looking at Mei and Shinji, "have none."

"Actually, professor, I do have an egg we found in the forest," Shinji said, pointing over his shoulder at the door to the room we'd left our packs in.

"I see. Still, in a pokémon battle, an egg can not protect you. Mei Ayanami and Shinji Ikari, you must choose your starters."

With that, a panel on the wall slid back, revealing a chart full of pokémon. The first three were familiar, and the next ones were, as well, but the final six I didn't recognize, aside from obvious classes.

"Are those... starters from four regions?" I asked.

Rowan nodded, "Indeed, Princess, they are."

I winced. "Please, just... call my Lyla... I _am _trying to stay relatively incognito."

Rowan nodded. "Very well, Lyla. These three are starters from Kanto, and these are from Johto, he said, pointing to the six I recognized. "To the east of Kanto lies Hoenn, where your Ralts originates from. These three," he said, pointing to the third trio, "Are the standard starters there, while these final three are the standard starters here in Sinnoh."

Shinji looked through them all alongside Mei, and finally, he pointed. "I think I'd prefer that one," he said, pointing at a Bulbasaur. Rowan nodded, typing something into an elaborate-looking machine and pulling a pokéball out of it a moment later and handing it to Shinji.

"A good choice. Not only is it a grass type, but a poison type as well. Remember to treat it well, and it will be a faithful companion wherever you go, young man," the Professor said.

Mei had been staring intently at the board, before pointing at the pokémon below the Bulbasaur. "This one, I think." She stated.

"A Chikorita. Another plant type, though not a double-type like young Shinji's Bulbasaur," Rowan said, as he worked at the machine again. When he was finished, he handed Mei a pokéball. "Treat it with respect, and it will always be there for you."

Mei nodded, before putting the pokéball into her pocket gently. "I'll treat it well," she stated, simply.

Rowan nodded, before turning to look at me. "It would seem, then, that your time here is at an end. Unless Officer Jenny has offered to take you somewhere, your journey begins now." Sweeping his gaze over all of us, he nodded. "Go out there and see what Pokémon have to offer your people, and yourselves. My assistants and I will be here if you need to contact us, but trust yourselves and your pokémon for most answers to your questions."

We all nodded, scooping up our packs and pokémon as we prepared to go. Ralts seemed to like my backpack more than he did my shoulder, and Misdreavus, though no longer as afraid of me, seemed relieved when I recalled it into its pokéball.

As we were walking out, Officer Jenny came out of the room Rowan had been in, and hurried over.

"You may have told the Professor enough to win him over... but you still owe me a complete explanation," She said, as the door shut behind us.

The sky was growing dark, and I shrugged, pointing northeast. "Give us a ride to the pokémon center, and I'll explain everything."

She nodded, and we were quickly on our way. The Nurse Joy was happy to see me again, and seemed somewhat surprised when Jenny explained who I was according to our story, but she shot me a smile as I waited for the elevator doors to shut, and I managed to smile and nod back at her before they finished closing.

* * *

Authors Notes: Another chapter! Yay! And a Pokédex, too. I'll do my best to remember to scan things so you'll have a name, at least. Just check out or the Bulbapedia if you don't know what I'm talking about... which is likely, if you haven't played all four generations of pokémon games... But at least I won't be using vague descriptions, right?

Once more, thanks to Nate and Tannim for pre-reading... and I finished chapter 6 already, but after looking it over, I realized it would work better as a chapter 7, instead... So now I have to write a chapter six, and I can post two chapters at once. Fun stuff.


	7. Chapter 6

The Pokémon Center was as quiet as it had been when I'd left, and I greeted the Nurse Joy behind the counter with a warm smile as I caught her eye, before requesting a room for the night.

"Of course! It's always a pleasure to house the more unique trainers," She replied, smiling as she handed me a key.

"Oh? I asked, tucking it away. "And what makes me a unique trainer?"

Her smile didn't falter. "You mean aside from our conversation earlier? Anyone who travels with an Officer Jenny and doesn't sleep in a holding cell is defiantly going to be considered somewhat abnormal."

Glancing back at Jenny, who still seemed rather angry, I nodded. "I think I know what you mean."

Ralts, who was back to sitting on my shoulder, had turned his head to follow the conversation, before going back to examining the world around him.

"Well, I won't keep you or your friends. Your room is on the third floor, to the left when you get off the elevator; number 307," Joy explained.

I nodded, and turned to go. The elevator was a little cramped with the five of us onboard, but I'd suffered through worse, and after a moment, the doors opened and we spilled out into the hall and made our way to the room, surprised at it's size and accommodations, compared to the last one.

As opposed to the bunk beds in Eterna City, There were three actual rooms, with two beds apiece, as well as a central sitting room.

When Shinji commented on it, Jenny nodded, speaking up. "Of course it's nice. With Professor Rowan's lab here in town, sometimes League officials come by... these rooms are usually for them and their aides, so they don't take over an entire floor."

I nodded in understanding, then turned to the large window- No, looking closer; I realized it was a sliding glass door that lead to a small balcony overlooking the forest outside. To the north, which the balcony was facing, I could see Jubilife City in the distance, rising above the fields and trees below, and even further, and to the east, a large snow-capped mountain rose from the land and disappeared into the clouds overhead.

There was movement beside me, and I turned to see Officer Jenny looking out over the region of Sinnoh herself.

"That's Mt. Coronet," she said, pointing. "Legend has it that all of Sinnoh started there."

"Just Sinnoh?" I asked, frowning.

Jenny shrugged. "That's the popular legend around here. Most Regions have their own legends and beliefs, and they're usually rather secular. We know about the others, but the division tends to enforce a sense of isolationism."

"So, where are you from?" I asked, turning back to the mountain.

"I'm from here; my whole family is. Oreburgh..." she turned to look to the east, then shrugged." You can't see it from here, there's a hill in the way, but it's to the northeast; East of Jubilife."

I nodded, before turning to stare out over the countryside again. To the west there was a lake sparkling in the sunlight, and I recalled that the map had listed it as Lake Verity, one of three that formed a triangle around Mt. Coronet.

Turning away, I smirked at the police officer who seemed to be taking in the view as deeply as I had been. "Something on your mind?" I asked, as I turned to go back inside.

She frowned and turned away herself, coming into the room behind me and sitting down in an overstuffed chair with a sigh. "You could say that," She finally replied, after a moment of thought. "You've made some pretty outrageous claims; claims that you've managed to back up to a degree... so now I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop."

I quirked a brow. "How so?"

She shrugged as Mei and Shinji sat down on a couch nearby, and before she could respond, Ranma stepped out of the bathroom, dabbing water out of his hair with a towel.

"Oh," I said, as the shoe indeed dropped.

"Who the hell are you?" Jenny asked, frowning, before looking around. "And where's Ranko?"

Wincing, I set Ralts down on the table, before climbing to my feet. "I was hoping to explain this _after_ I told you about everything I... _we've_ been through... but I suppose it can't be helped."

Stepping into the bathroom, I grabbed a plastic cup and filled it with hot water, testing it with a fingertip before emerging. "Behold, with Hot water, I become!" and dumped the water on my head,

The clothes I was wearing tightened as the shift happened, and I winced as certain bits of cloth that were used to having some freedom suddenly dug into me uncomfortably.

"And Ranko's the same way," I added. When Jenny turned to look at Ranma, I quickly adjusted my clothes, mentally noting that next time, I should probably check that.

Jenny looked back and forth between us with very wide eyes, and I couldn't help but laugh as Ralts did the same.

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?" She shouted, pointing at both of us.

Collapsing into a second chair, I shrugged. "Jusenkyo. It's a place far, far away from here. Ranma, you want to explain it?"

"Ranma? I thought she was called Ranko. And she... err... you..." She turned to Ranma with a frown. "Are you a boy or a girl or...?"

Ranma scowled. "I'm a guy, dammit. This curse is all my pops' fault. Unlike his; that's his _own_ fault."

I frowned in reply. "Oh, that's rich. Like I _asked_ for it."

"Considering the way you tempted fate," Mei supplied from where she was watching, obviously trying to contain her amusement.

"If the containment procedures hadn't been so stupidly implemented, I'd have gotten away just fine. Cantrell's damned force-field maze was definitely not the way to go about adding redundant protection," I shot back.

Mei just shrugged her shoulders. "From what I saw of the video, the procedures in place were designed for water containment first, and potential curse-victim second. If you'd been drenched with something mind-altering, the field would have held you in place long enough for the science team to come up with a way to either restrain you, or splash you with hot water."

"What are you_talking _about?" Jenny cried, looking torn between being confused and being afraid.

With a sigh, I stood up before her. "Officer Jenny, allow me to properly... and_honestly_- introduce ourselves. I'm Kyle Kino, Emperor of a small fleet of ships though I prefer being referred to as Commander if you want to apply titles. To your left is Captain Mei, one of three Captains in command of the Star Destroyer _The Nerve_. Sitting beside her is Shinji Ikari, Lieutenant in the Imperial Navy, and previous Pilot of Evangelion Unit-01. Finally, we have Ranma Saotome, Student of the Anything Goes School of Martial Arts."

Jenny blinked, processing all this, before shaking her head to clear her thoughts. "Wait... _you're_ the Emperor of Tokyo?"

Shaking me head, I smiled. "I told you, there is no Tokyo. Merely a pair of ships (soon to be three) that I'm in charge of. The ships themselves are..._based_ upon Starships of a galactic-spanning Empire in a movie series I particularly enjoyed on my homeworld."

"How did you-" She started to ask, but I cut her off.

"Get them? I wished for one. The _Jupiter's Thunder_, Flagship of the fleet, was a gift from a wish-granting genie. _The Nerve_ was created from asteroids and staffed by the _Thunder's_ crew while we spent time in the Evangelion Universe, and we're currently drawing up plans for a new ship to be used as a more permanent flying home for the refugees of Tokyo-3."

"Tokyo-3? But you said before... and what do you mean _Universe?_" She asked, looking confused again.

I turned to look at Mei. "You want to take over? I have a confused Pokémon to deal with."

And indeed I did. Ralts was currently holding up the cup I'd poured water from up in front of his face, in close examination.

Crouching down beside him while Mei started explaining, With Ranma's help, our adventures to Officer Jenny, I gently took the cup from Ralt's hands and set it down.

"A little weird for you, huh little guy?" I asked, earning a slow nod in response.

I smiled. "Trust me; it's not just weird for you." Grabbing the cup, I stood up, and patted Ralts on the head before going into the bathroom and filling it with cool water.

"With Cold water, I go back to the other form, which everyone on this world knows," I explained, setting the cup down in front of him.

"Ralts?" He asked, glancing between me and the cup questioningly. I shrugged, pointing at the cup. With a quiet "ralll" he picked the cup up, looking into it for a moment, before turning towards me. "Ra!" he shouted, flinging the water in my face with surprising force.

Sputtering, I wiped the water out of my eyes, not having expected to get hit with a shot of water traveling so quickly. "You don't have to throw it that hard. It just has to be col..." I trailed off as I realized he wasn't listening. Instead, he was rolling around on the table laughing.

"Feh. See if I try to explain anything to you again," I muttered, making my way to a closet and pulling out a white towel and doing my best to dry my clothes.

Ralts finally stopped laughing as I returned, and he held the empty cup up to me, looking somewhat pleadingly.

"Ha! After that last shot? I don't think so," I replied. He continued holding the cup up to me, and I shook my head. "No way. That last shot got water up my nose. I hate that feeling," I explained. When the little guy didn't relent, I sighed. "Okay, look. I'll give you some hot water, but you have to _pour_ it on my head. Not throw it in my face. You got that?"

He nodded solemnly, and I took the cup, and stood up, turning to go back to the bathroom sink. Grabbing the towel, I put it around my neck, and made my way to the sink, when suddenly there was a flash of light, and Ralts appeared on the countertop beside the sink.

"What the?" I asked, stepping back in surprise. Ralts turned to look at me, before pointing to the sink.

"You can teleport, huh?" I asked, reaching for my Pokédex with one hand while handing Ralts the cup with the other.

I'd been meaning to do this earlier, but without a change to set everything down and look it over, I'd been unable to. While the glass filled with hot water, I scanned my Ralts, curious what this Pokédex had to say.

"Ralts: The Feeling Pokémon. It uses the horns on its head to sense human emotions. It is said to appear in front of cheerful people. Ralts moves by teleporting repeatedly. It apparently does not walk very often," the Pokédex announced.

"Interesting," I grumbled, already knowing about its ability to sense emotions. Before I could flip through all the data displayed, however, a blast of hot water caught me in the face, and I coughed, setting the Pokédex aside as I tried to dry my face off.

"Ralts!" I shouted, but he ignored me, too busy laughing in the sink basin.

When he finally stopped laughing (about when I finished getting the water out of my nose) he turned around with the cup, and filled it with cold water from the tap.

"Don't you dare!" I said, as he prepared to launch it at me. He stopped, glanced at me, before flashing.

"Augh!" I heard Ranma- a female-Ranma- shout from the other room.

Ralts re-appeared again, and started laughing in the sink, as Ranma sputtered in the main room, before calling out: "where'd you go, you little twerp!"

With a sigh, I stepped into the doorway, "Just let him have his fun, Ranma... He's just a kid, right now," I explained, or started to. Half-way through it, I was hit in the back of the head with a blast of cold water, and shifted again as I told Ranma Ralts was a kid, while I heard said Ralts laughing in the bathroom some more.

Jenny, who'd been watching us with wide eyes, couldn't help it, and started chuckling as well, and Ranma and Mei had already started laughing at me, while Shinji looked somewhat worried.

When another blast of Hot water hit me in the back of the head, I sighed and pulled out Ralts' Pokéball. "Ralts! Return," I said, pointing it over my shoulder and pushing the button in the center. It opened, and there was a flash of light from behind me, before I felt the ball snap shut.

Looking at its bright red surface, I frowned. "You can come out when you're not feeling so mischievous," I said, before tucking the ball back into my belt.

Turning to my dropped Pokédex, frowned, shaking the water form it, and somewhat surprised that it wasn't destroyed.

Actually, thinking about it, considering how often Pikachu had shocked Ash in the anime, or they'd gone for an unintended swim, a Pokédex had to be a pretty hardy device. Even if the Anime's main character displayed the worst treatment a Pokédex could undergo, even the most prepared trainers can't help it if there's a sudden storm, or they fall into a lake or something.

Shaking it again, before wiping the remaining droplets from the surfaces I could see, I quickly scanned the data on Ralts.

According to the Pokédex, it was registered to me (as Lyla) and knew Teleport, Confusion Ray, Will-o-wisp, and Shadow Sneak. It also was listed as having the ability Trace, which, after some searching, I found out meant that it could copy the abilities of other pokémon it comes up against.

Snapping the Pokédex shut, I turned back to Mei and Ranma, who were still explaining everything, before turning to Shinji.

"Have you tried your Pokédex out?" I asked, sitting back down in the chair I'd been in earlier.

He nodded, pulling his out. "I'm not really sure what all it can do, but it's pretty impressive," he said. Flipping his open, I watched as he pulled out a pokéball and then went to his pack to pull out the carefully-wrapped egg.

Without saying anything, he opened the pokéball, and out popped his Bulbasaur.

"Fushi," it croaked, before turning to look at Shinji expectantly.

"Umm... hello..." Shinji said nervously. I winced. Not the best way to make a first impression.

"He's not quite as small as I thought he'd be," I said, as the two continued to stare at each other.

"What did you expect?" Shinji asked, not taking his eyes off his pokémon.

"A little toad with a flower bud on his back," I replied honestly.

"Fuu..." the Bulbasaur said, turning to glare at me for a moment before turning its attention back to Shinji.

"So what are you going to call him... her... err..." I trailed off, pulling out my own 'dex and scanning his pokémon. Snapping it shut as it briefly described it. I'd seen what I needed, and felt my eyebrows rise. "Impressive, it's a girl."

"Is that... good?" Shinji asked, sounding uncertain still.

I sighed. "Relax, Shinji, this isn't some wild animal out to kill you, it's your first pokémon, and a starter at that. Bred and raised to be helpful and friendly to its trainer, which is you."

"But... I've never had a pet before," Shinji said, as if that explained everything.

"She's not a pet... not really. If you were going on this journey alone, she'd be your first, last, and only defense against wild pokémon until you acquired some more for your team. This isn't a pet, it's a partner," I explained.

"But... how..." Shinji grew quiet, and I waited as he considered that. Finally he nodded. "I suppose I'll just have to take your word for it. It seems kind of small, but I doubt that means much..."

I nodded, "yeah. Just wait until it evolves," I replied, standing up.

Shinji nodded absently at that, before turning to look at me sharply. "Evolves? What does that mean?"

"Exactly what it sounds like," I said. "Only, instead if taking generations, it happens at certain levels, a lot like the other pokémon out there." I waved at the balcony as I said that, and he turned to look out at the forest before turning his attention back to the Bulbasaur.

While he considered that, and pulled out his Pokédex again, I turned back to Jenny and Ranma and Mei, who were apparently winding up their explanations.

"Now that you're about as caught up as Ranma is, I suppose I should explain some things about us being here, and what it means," I said, once Mei had detailed the brief but deadly battle for Tokyo-3.

Jenny nodded, and Ranma and Mei turned to listen to me as I explained what I already knew of the Pokémon world, mostly from the anime, and the two games I had played, Yellow and Gold.

"There was also an anime series that followed Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town, in Kanto, but I haven't really seen all that many episodes... I did see the two movies, though."

Jenny scowled at that, and I sighed, wondering if she'd go for the Wing Commander response. "You mean to tell me our entire world is a source of entertainment for you?"

I nodded. "It is. It's far more than that, both to you and to me, I suppose, but for the most part, if you want to cut away all emotional ties, it's a fairly lucrative series of games and anime that makes Nintendo quite rich."

Jenny shook her head, "I don't believe it."

I frowned, before pointing at her. "You, Officer Jenny, are a mold-breaker of sorts. Skeptical and analytical and sharp... but despite that, you're not looking at things objectively... You've met multiple Nurse Joys, and I know there are other Officer Jennies... I think it's kind of hard to miss the fact that you, and they, all tend to look alike, even ignoring the occasional change of haircut or cut of cloth."

Her mouth fell open, "How dare you?"

I crossed my arms, "Oh, I dare. There's never been an explanation why, as far as I know, you all look alike, and are all police officers, and tend to have Growlithes, and usually are well-meaning but inept... but it's the truth, and I dare you to dispute it."

"I come from a long line of Police Officers! Are you asking me to turn my back on that?" She shot back with a scowl.

I shrugged, "If I had met you when you were younger? Yes. Mostly to see if you could. Every Officer Jenny is exactly that, an Officer. _Could_ you break that chain? I don't think so... not without outside intervention. Because in the end, you're a character in a television show that helps link this world to reality in the minds of children watching... and also helps link the anime to the games... by having a character that shares an appearance with all characters of the same class."

"I am NOT some mindless character in a video game! I'm a human being, with feelings and dreams, damn you! How can you _say_ that? How... how..." The fire in her eyes sputtered out and her focus shifted to something far away, before she collapsed into the chair, pulling her knees up to her chest and hugging them.

"Oh, mother... how could this..." I heard her mumble, as she rocked in the chair, her face buried against her knees.

Ranma glared at me, and I shrugged, before Shinji recalled his Bulbasaur and moved over to her. Shooting me a glare himself, I heard him whispering quietly to her, as he patted her on the back. Mei watched indifferently from the couch, and Ranma grumbled under his breath before heading into the bathroom.

I shrugged, watching Shinji do his best to comfort her, and I hid a smile as I caught him quietly telling her about his own world, and how he'd found out everything at the worst possible time, during Bardiel's assault.

Grabbing my bag, I stepped into one of the bedrooms, tossing my pack down on the floor at the foot of one of the beds, before pulling out the commlink and flipping it open.

"My Lord," Major Wessel replied in surprise when he saw who was calling.

I nodded. "Patch me through to SHODAN, would you major?" I asked, not really in the mood for small talk.

"At once, Milord!" He replied, reaching forward and activating the Holonet relay.

"About time you called us," SHODAN said, her digital visage smirking at me from the small screen.

"It's been an interesting couple of days... How's the fleet?" I asked.

"Indeed?" The AI asked rhetorically. "The refugees are beginning to get restless, but most of the NERV command staff here helped quell any threats before they got serious, and Fuyutsuki was accepted as provisional leader of the Tokyo-3 populace, with a couple others running against him in an election to be held later this week."

I nodded, wondering who'd run against Fuyutsuki, and what he'd do if he lost the election. "How about the fleet itself?"

SHODAN's image flickered, before the plans of the modified Interdictor Star Destroyer appeared on the tiny screen. As the display rotated on screen, SHODAN's voice began explaining. "All plans for the new class of Civilian-Transport Star Destroyer with Multiple-Bio-domes have been finished, pending your final authorization. Once we've received that, we can begin construction."

"You have it," I offered, and SHODAN's face appeared, smiling. "If only it were always that easy," the AI said smugly, before the image changed to the Eva-Hanger, where a tiny Dr. Akagi could be seen working around Unit-01.

"Attempts to restore Unit-01 and Dr. Ikari have so far proceeded as planned, and Dr. Akagi has tentatively scheduled a potential retrieval plan for next Tuesday, dependant upon several factors."

"What factors," I asked, as I started pulling out a change of clothes that weren't damp. Hanging the ones I was wearing over a chair, I started to pull on a dry change as SHODAN elaborated.

"Barring any complications during tonight's test with Jusenkyo water, the proper types of water will have to be created using Jusenkyo's own uncursed-water-infecting abilities, which will take time. There is also the need for both you and Shinji, if we are to assume you want to be there," I nodded at that and it continued, "as well as preparing a proper receptacle."

"Receptacle?" I asked, confused.

"_If_ Dr. Akagi's plans work, then Dr. Ikari could appear outside of Unit-01 at almost any location. Appearing beside the head of a restrained Unit-01 would prove catastrophic without a safety net to catch her, as would appearing between Unit-01 and its armor."

I winced; definitely not the best mental images. "I see."

"I would imagine so. Still, plans are underway to prevent anything like that from happening, and multiple sensors are already being installed so that, in the event that something like that happens, it will be detected, and I can teleport her to the medical bay immediately." The AI elaborated.

"That... sounds reasonable, I suppose," I mumbled, before frowning. "When we come up, tell Dr. Akagi to have a more detailed description of what she plans to do available, if for no other reason than to let us know what to expect."

"Understood." The AI's face flickered again, and I frowned, before it started talking again. "Aside from that, and a few minor situations already dealt with, the fleet is doing well."

I nodded. "Have you detected any further emissions from the planet, aside from commercial broadcasts?"

"Negative. If there is any sort of extra-atmospheric scanning, it's far too weak to be detected here."

Turning to look back out the window, I frowned, before nodding to myself. "Move the fleet in-system. Leave _The Nerve_ out by the Asteroid Belt, where it can assist the WD's as they begin construction of the new ship, and bring the _Thunder_ in behind the moon. If you can't detect anything from that distance, you can move into high orbit after 48 hours."

"From the far side of the moon, it will still require a Holonet relay to contact us in the event of an emergency," the AI warned.

I shrugged, "I doubt there's anything too dangerous down here to fear... And if there is, I can always call Major Wessel. Have you been made aware of our unexpected guest?" I asked, as I heard Ranma talking in the other room, male once more.

"Makoto and Nabiki have alerted us, and quarters have been made available, if he stays beyond this universe."

I frowned, thinking of how problematic it would be if he suddenly vanished back to Nerima at a bad time... like in the middle of a fight. Maybe I shouldn't have been so quick to get him on my team.

Shaking the errant thoughts from my head, I shrugged. "That sounds fine. Enter him into the systems as a Master Warrant Officer."

"Specialization?" SHODAN asked.

"CQB," I replied with a smirk. As if anything else would suffice.

"That's not a current Naval Specialty-" SHODAN started to say, before I cut her off.

"SHODAN, you're the fleet's Central Artificial Intelligence. I'm fairly certain you could _make_ that an option. I don't really have to tell you to do that, do I?" I asked, scowling.

"Negative. It's done. Anything else?" The AI asked with a grin.

I started to shake my head, then paused. "Actually, pencil him in for instructing the Martial Arts classes Makoto and I set up. Have him work alongside Rei... and also add the classes to Nabiki's schedule. If she's adamant about having a Martial Artist along with her, she can include herself, next time."

SHODAN's smile grew larger at that, and she nodded. "Done."

Turning back towards the door, I sighed. "Then that's that. Move in-system, and call me if anything comes up. Kyle out." I said, shutting the commlink and slipping it back into my pack.

Straightening out my shirt, I turned towards the door, but paused, spotting the pair of pokéballs on the bed. I was about to go grab them when Ranma called me from the common room.

Frowning at them, I snatched them up, slipping them into my pocket along with the Pokédex, before leaving the room.

"What's up?" I asked, as I emerged into the common room, where Officer Jenny, who had obviously been crying, looked up at me with red-rimmed eyes.

Mei had released her Chikorita, and it was currently running in circles around Shinji's Bulbasaur, while Shinji himself was sitting with an arm around Officer Jenny.

Ranma was sitting on the far chair where I had been earlier, looking somewhat bored.

"That wasn't very nice, you know, telling her everything like that," Shinji said, with a glare.

Frowning, I opened my mouth to reply, but before I could say anything, Officer Jenny shook her head. "No... He was right. It's not something I expected to hear, and certainly never would have guessed... but it makes sense, in a way... and if I pride myself in being more perceptive than my... peers, then I'd be a hypocrite if I didn't at the very least consider what he said..."

"But he could have explained it better... like I did," Shinji argued.

I shook my head, "Shinji, you helped... a lot, I think, by playing the good cop, but I had to play bad cop and lay it all down to her before she had a chance to start shooting down facts one by one."

"But... why?" He asked, finally, as Jenny nodded in understanding.

"Because some people are more trusting than others... and if there's one thing I've noticed about this Jenny, she's not nearly as trusting as some of the more naïve officers wandering around out there." I said, nodding my head towards the window.

"It's Celia," Jenny said, suddenly, climbing to her feet and straightening out her uniform.

"What is?" Ranma asked, confused.

"My name," Jenny... Celia said, frowning at Ranma, before turning to look at me. "I may be an Officer Jenny... but it's a family name, just like Joy. My given name is Celia, if that matters to you at all."

I nodded, smiling slightly as I stuck my hand out. "I'm Kyle, Celia. Nice to meet you."

She took the hand with a glare, and shook it once, before trying to pull away. Before I released her, however, I smiled a little more. "Stop selling yourself short, Celia. You're far too quick to let others do it to you, and far too smart to do it to yourself."

She pulled her hand back with a scowl, "Like it's stopped anyone before," she growled, before turning to look out the window with her arms crossed. The sky had turned red as evening approached, and I frowned. "Sounds like there's a story there... care to share?"

She turned to me with an 'are-you-crazy' look, and I held my hands up in surrender. "Don't get upset again! I'm just curious... and we did tell you our story."

She nodded, looking out the window again. "You did, at that. But what do you care? I'm just a random character from some video game to you."

I shook my head, grabbing her shoulder and forcibly turning her around to wave my arm at the others in the room. "If that's truly how I felt about you, then how about Ranma, there? He's the main character of a comic and television show, as well as Shinji. And Mei is from the same world as Shinji... before I came along, she was less than a character, merely an object in the background during a single scene."

"And? What are you trying to say?" She growled, and I sighed.

"Jenny... Celia. What I'm trying to say is that these people are exactly that: _People_. They may have been characters in a book, or on a screen before, but they're as real as me... as real as _you_, both to me and everyone else."

"So?" she asked, defensively.

I scowled at her. "You're suddenly becoming dense." I said, earning a scowl from her, before I threw my hands up in exasperation at her. "You're a person! A fucking flesh-and-blood individual, who walks around breathing air and doing as you wish while you live! You may have a retarded, single-phrase-speaking NPC copy of yourself in handheld videogames back where I come from, but we're not there, are we?"

"... N-no..." she said, cautiously.

"No!" I shouted, making her jump. "We're here, in a world full of pokémon. And you don't exactly look like a crappy little sprite to me. I see a person. Sure, it's an Officer Jenny, but you're_Celia Jenny_, not just a random no-name NPC Jenny. Understand me?"

She started to shake her head, but paused, looking past me, at Shinji, who was watching us with interest, Mei, who had gone back to watching her Chikorita, and Ranma, who shrugged apologetically. Finally: "I'm... a real person?" She asked, tentatively.

I nodded, and she smiled slightly, before hauling back and slugging me.

Since I was currently in my uncursed form, I couldn't summon my AT-Field, which I had tried, and as such, I peeled myself off the floor, looking up at her as I felt my jaw. "Feel better now?" I asked, opening and closing my mouth a couple times to ensure nothing was damaged.

She nodded, looking down at me, before smiling a little more. "Yeah... I think I am."

"Great," I said, climbing back to my feet. "In that case, why don't you answer my earlier question?"

She frowned. "Which one?"

"What's your story," Ranma supplied from the chair.

Celia frowned, before looking around the room. "Fine... but not here. Let me get my things and freshen up, and we'll find somewhere appropriate to talk."

I nodded, and she stepped outside into the hallway, ostensibly to get her things.

"That wasn't very nice," Shinji said, finally, as we waited.

"Tell me about it, my jaw's pretty damn sore. She packs a pretty mean wallop," I said, holding a moist, cold cloth against my jaw to combat pain.

"Good!" Shinji said with a scowl. "And that's not what I meant. You say you had to do it that way, but you could have handled it better."

I shrugged. "Maybe I could have... but I didn't, and what's done is done."

"I don't see what the big deal is; after all, I didn't really worry too much about it when _I _found out," Ranma said.

Shinji's scowl deepened. "I doubt you found out that your mother's soul was trapped inside the giant mechanical robot you've been piloting for months, and that the very people you trusted to tell you the truth had hidden it from you because they didn't trust you with the information," he hissed.

Ranma sat forward, a frown on his face, now. "No, I didn't. But then, you weren't being beat up daily by random martial artists for stupid reasons, engaged by your father to multiple fiancés who wouldn't take 'no' for an answer... fiancés who were also some of the martial artists that I fought daily... You didn't have to fight a god for the life of your loved ones... and a curse like mine to go with all that?"

"Well this is certainly entertaining," Mei interjected, earning everyone's attention. "Maybe you boys should drop your pants and see who's bigger while you're at it."

Shinji and Ranma both sat back with a blush, and I smirked, nodding at Mei, who shrugged and turned back to her Pokédex.

When Celia returned, she was lugging an over-stuffed suitcase into the room with her, and had a purse slung over her shoulder, though it was filthy, and I vaguely recall having seen it on the floor of her car, though at the time, I had thought it was a wadded up shirt or something.

"What's with the looks?" She asked, before looking at the four bedroom doors. "Who's sleeping where?"

There was a scramble as everyone tried to get their own room, and finally, after everyone had claimed a doorway, Celia shrugged, and turned towards Mei. "You don't change sex, do you?"

Mei laughed, and stepped aside, allowing Celia entry into her room. The door shut behind them, and Shinji, Ranma and I stared at each for a moment, before stepping back into the central room.

"I'm married," I said with a shrug.

"I'm engaged... multiple times," Ranma replied.

We both turned to Shinji when he didn't offer up an excuse, and I smirked as I saw him watching the girls' door.

Before I could say anything about it, however, the door opened, and Mei emerged, Celia right behind her, and no longer in uniform. Instead, she was wearing a rather plain-looking pair of blue jeans, and a white button up short-sleeve shirt she'd tucked into the pants.

"What?" she asked, noticing everyone's looks.

"I... err... I've never actually seen an officer Jenny out of uniform," I explained.

She scowled at that, before turning to Ranma and Shinji. "And you two?"

"I'm just surprised you clothes aren't wrinkled, considering how stuffed your bag looked," Ranma said with a shrug. Celia stared at him quizzically, before turning to look at Shinji.

Shinji, however, seemed rather stunned, before asking, "How old are you?"

Celia frowned. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Looking her over again, I frowned, surprised at Shinji's question, or more likely, why I hadn't wondered the same thing. While I wasn't the best judge of things, she looked, now that she wasn't wearing her uniform, surprisingly young for a police officer, and I wondered if she had even hit the legal drinking age.

She shook her head dismissively, and turned towards the door. "Coming?" She asked, as we watched her start to leave.

"Um... yeah..." I mumbled, before turning to the others. "Umm... we all going?"

Mei shook her head, stretching. "If it's okay with you, Commander, I'd like to get some sleep. It's been a long day, and I have some reports from _The Nerve_ to go over before I can get to sleep."

I nodded. "That's fine." Turning to Ranma and Shinji, I frowned. "You know, one of us should change, so that it's more even."

Ranma scowled. "I'm tired of being a girl. You do it, I'm going as myself."

"Your Pokédex is registered to your girl form," Shinji supplied, as he recalled his Bulbasaur and put the pokéball into his pocket.

Ranma frowned, turning to look out the window, before shrugging. "Then Eno and I are going outside to train. We'll see you all later," he said, pulling a pokéball from his pocket before jumping over the railing after opening the glass door.

Blinking at the suddenly empty balcony, I shrugged, sliding the door almost closed, before turning to Shinji. "He'll be fine," I said, secretly wishing he landed in a rosebush or something, before letting Ralts out of his pokéball.

"Ralts," he cried petulantly, the plastic cup still in his hands.

I shook my head. "Not this time, little buddy. We're going out, and we can't let strangers know about the curse. Do you understand me?

"Raa?" he asked, looking between me and the cup.

I shook my head. "You can't splash me. This is serious... if you expose it, who knows how people might react. I doubt you want to be caught up in the middle of a crowd of angry and scared people, now, do you?" I asked.

"Ralts," he said sadly, shaking his head no.

I reached out and patted him on the head. "Glad we understand each other."

I still had to change, though, so I took him into the bathroom. "You can splash me once, but please, pour it on my head this time. I just changed clothes," I said, wrapping a towel around my shoulders to catch any water that fell.

Before I could prepare however, I felt a ball of water hit me in the back of the head, the towel catching most of it as Ralts started laughing from behind me. After filling his cup, he'd teleported behind me so he could catch me in the back of the head.

With a flash, he appeared by the sink again, and I frowned, waving my hand as he reached for the hot-water nozzle, and grinning as his hand was blocked by an AT-Field.

"Ral?" he asked, poking at it in surprise.

"No, Ralts. We've got to go. Are you coming? Or do I need to put you back in your ball?"

"Ra-ra-ra," he said in a defeated tone, before teleporting onto my shoulder. I reached up to take the cup from him, but he pulled it away, protesting loudly.

I shrugged, and he protested again as his seat shifted under him. "Fine, you can keep it, but remember: NO splashes."

"Tsu," he said, nodding again.

With that, I left, hoping to catch up to Celia and Shinji.

To my surprise, they were waiting in the Lobby of the Pokémon Center, Celia talking to Nurse Joy, while Shinji just listened nearby.

"I'm here... Ranma... well, I'm sure Shinji told you... ready to go?" I asked.

Celia and Shinji nodded.

"Thanks," the Officer said to the Nurse, who merely nodded in reply, before smiling at me and Ralts as we went by.

Ralts had turned his plastic cup upside down and held it between his knees, banging on its bottom like a drum as he tried to sing. Unfortunately, with only so few ways for him to mutilate his own species' name, it was rather repetitive, even if the beat and tune were acceptable.

Celia drove us down one street and another, as the stars started to emerge above us, and finally, she pulled to a stop outside a building I instantly recognized.

"A bar?" I asked, in surprise.

"What? They don't serve liquor where you're from?" She asked, with a frown.

I shook my head. "Not at all. I actually was known to mix a drink or two, back home... I'm just... surprised this is here. Remember, children's game and all," I explained.

She shrugged. "Not everything is for kids... otherwise there'd be no need for police officers," she said, before mumbling something under her breath.

Before I could respond, she'd hopped out of her car and was already halfway to the door.

Hurrying to follow, Shinji and I soon found ourselves in a dimly-lit bar with numerous tables scattered across the floor and a few booths against the back wall. Without looking around, Celia lead us to a booth in the back, and she sat down on the side facing both the door and the back exit.

Wincing, as that was usually where I would sit, I plopped down beside Shinji across from her, and she looked the Bar over, before nodding to herself.

"Alright... once we have drinks, I'll tell you my story... and why'd you bring your Ralts?" She asked.

I shrugged, pulling the little guy down into the booth beside me, between me and the wall. Ralts had stopped drumming on his cup as we had entered, and was now looking around the bar warily, one hand gripping my sleeve tightly.

Actually, since he didn't have full hands, just nubby little arm-stubs, I wasn't quite sure what he was doing, but the sleeve was pressed against the end of his arms tightly, and a gentle tug couldn't dislodge it, which was apparently good enough for him. Shrugging, I ignored it as a waitress swung by and took our orders.

"I'll have a beer," Celia ordered.

"Water for me," Shinji asked.

"Long island iced tea... and use spiced rum," I ordered, earning a stare from the waitress.

"You want a what-now?" She finally asked, frowning.

I sighed, before explaining the drink to her, liquor by liquor.

"Oh... round here, we call that a Kangaskhan Kicker," she said, writing it down.

I buried my face in my hands, not having expected that, and not really sure why I shouldn't have. "And why do they call it that?" I asked wearily.

The waitress smirked. "Because if you drink it, you're likely to wake up feeling like a Kangaskhan kicked you in the head the next morning," she explained, before slipping away.

We sat there in relative silence, listening to the music of the jukebox before our drinks were dropped off, along with a small bowl of chips and some salsa. "Huh," I grunted, trying the chips and surprised at how normal they tasted.

"Something wrong?" Celia asked, pointing at the bowl of chips with the mouth of her beer bottle.

I shrugged. "Pokémon was a Japanese game, and this is a fairly Mexican... or Spanish... dish. I would have expected... well... a lot of things to be slightly different, really." I explained.

Celia shrugged, taking a swig of her beer before eating a chip. "Most places like this serve this or pretzels... at least, here in Sinnoh. Nicer establishments tend to serve more rice-based starch, though." She offered, after a minute.

I nodded. "Sounds about right, I suppose. I doubt the games would bother allowing you into a bar anyway. They're probably one of the many buildings that don't appear in the cities."

Celia sighed. "Can we not talk about that?" she asked.

I shrugged. "You've got your drink. I'm just waiting for you to start."

Looking at her beer, she frowned. "I'm not quite ready... here," she said, snatching my drink from me and sucking half if it down before I could bother protesting.

I'd never been to keen on sharing drinks, so when she tried to slide the glass back, I waver it off and shook my head, "Keep it. I'll get another... how is it?"

She began to push it back towards me, and I frowned, a little AT-Field stopping the cup before it had gone more than a couple centimeters. "I don't like to share drinks." I said.

She sighed, poking at the AT-Field with a chip, before sucking down the rest of the drink.

"It's... pretty tasty... but strong, too." She said, finally. I nodded, ordering a second as the Waitress came back to see if everything was okay. I also ordered a grilled cheese sandwich from the miniscule menu, not really wanting to ask what kind of meat went into a cheeseburger.

Finally, Celia sat up, her eyes somewhat glossy, and a smile on her face. "Now I'm feeling good..." She turned to look at me and Shinji, before looking out at the patrons of the bar.

"Look at them all... just like you said, characters in a game... background characters even, not worried about much of anything, you think? But no... they're_ people_... like you said. And it's supposed to be my job to protect them and serve them and show them that their homes are secure, their pokémon are safe, and their children are in good hands..." she said, not quite to the point of slurring, but slightly delayed.

"I'm an Officer Jenny, like my mother before me, and her mother, and her mother... and I don't know about her mother, but if it's like you said, then she was probably an Officer, too... and my cousins, I suppose their mothers were officers, like they are, and their mothers' mothers...

"But anyway! I was a prodigy. Or so everyone said... destined for the academy, a brilliant detective..." she pushed a chip around the table with her finger as she spoke, her other hand wrapped around her half-finished beer, and I nodded, having expected something like that.

"But when I finally get in, the other Jennies, they all hated me. I was younger than them, but so much better... And the sad thing is? I knew I wasn't that good... But I was better than them, and that was worse, because it was like they expected me to be only as good as the rest of them..."

She trailed off, quickly finishing off her beer, and the waitress came by with my sandwich and a second drink for me, which Celia snatched and started sucking down despite my protests.

Finally, when it was three fourth gone, she signed, and put her chin on the table, turning bleary eyes to look at Shinji and I. "Do you have any idea what it's like to go to an academy where everyone looks like you?"

She sat up as Shinji and I shook our heads silently. "Do you know how hard it is to prove you're you to your instructors when everyone has your face? Defending your records and achievements from people who can feasibly steal your identity... steal your accomplishments, because you look alike?"

"Mei might know," Shinji said, softly.

Celia snorted, "Mei's part of, what? Four? Try Dozens... all in your class, all hating you because you're better... I went through hell to get this," she said, digging out her badge and tossing it to us.

"And then, I got sent to Eterna City. Stationed there first thing out of the Academy and you know what happened?"

"You... were better than your chief?" I asked, guessing where this was going.

"Yes!" she cried, somewhat loudly. Shinji and Ralts jumped, but I was expecting that, so I just nodded.

"So did you make her look bad?" I wondered aloud.

Celia frowned. "Who's telling the story, huh?"

I held up my hands apologetically. "Sorry, sorry... you were saying?"

"I was saying! Umm..." she trailed off, the liquor apparently beginning to slow her down more. "Oh yeah... So I was doing my job... just... my job... and doing it better than most of the others working with me, and one day some kid's pokémon are stolen and the chief calls me in to deal with it."

I nodded for her to continue.

"Well, long story short, I screwed up. Only, it _wasn't_ my fault! I gave them all the evidence I'd collected, but the thief had connections everywhere... and the chief blamed me... I'd like to see her gather as much proof as I had, but it wasn't enough for a conviction.

"So what happened then?" Shinji asked.

Celia sighed, and buried her face in her hands. "They kept giving me crap-cases like getting scared Glameow's out of trees, or watching the gate to bicycle road... stupid jobs that shouldn't even exist, but somehow keep appearing on the list."

I sighed. "That sucks," I said, finally, unable to come up with any better way to put it.

"Tell me about it! I'm not some dimwitted simpleton... I have needs and wants and dreams... 'This is not what I should be doing' I told myself one day... and the next day I put in for my vacation time and now I'm trying to find something better. I tried to transfer, but none of the other stations will even talk to me after they call my chief and ask about me."

I glanced at her drink, then at the half-eaten sandwich before me. Shrugging, I tapped Shinji on the shoulder and shooed him out of the booth.

"Well, Celia... sounds like you got the short end of the stick. How much more vacation time do you have?" I asked, as I tried to pry her out of the booth and support her as she stumbled.

Shinji threw down a wad of cash that should cover the meal two-fold, and took Celia's other arm, while Ralts, who'd been watching us, simply teleported onto my head, clinging to the back of it like a confused facehugger.

"I'm on indefinite leave... I think the Chief was happy for that... Rumor has it she was a jealous little witch at the Academy, too." Celia grumbled as we piled into her car. Shinji was about to put her in the driver's Seat, but when I stared at him, he realized his error and put her into the passenger seat before climbing in the back and leaving the driving to me.

"So then... want to accompany us? No promises that it won't get a little weird at times, but we could certainly use a native... and _familiar_... face, if you know what I mean," I asked, as I quickly frisked her for her keys.

With a grin, I plucked them out of her pocket and hopped into the driver's seat, wondering if there was any difference between these cars and the ones back home. With a flick of the key, I quickly discovered the difference was only cosmetic, and I headed back to the pokécenter as Celia started to doze off.

"Sure sure, I'll go... better than Eterna. And don't scratch the paint!" She mumbled, before collapsing.

Glancing at Shinji in the rearview mirror, I smirked. "Well... that was informative, wasn't it?"

As the car neared the Pokémon Center, Shinji shrugged back at me, before turning to look out the window, and Ralts started banging on his cup-drum again.

* * *

Author's Notes: And another chapter done in a day. Sorry about the break, I had a fairly hectic time at work last week, with 14-hour days lasting from 4 in the afternoon to 6 in the morning. Suffice it to say, I wasn't really coherent enough to read a fic, much less write one, during my free time. I'm just about to the point where I think I can start skipping the duller moments for the more action-oriented scenes... more of the usual, I suppose.

On the bright side, there's some upcoming scenes I've planned, as well as the almost-finished Chapter seven that will follow this one fairly quickly... Some of the things I wrote into that were covered in detail here, so I need to do some quick edits, but it's about time for my first official battle... with a twist. And, of course, there's plenty more coming up.

Thanks to Matt and Nate for pre-reading, and I'll be back with Chapter 7 soon.


	8. Chapter 7

We were barely in the room when Ralts disappeared from my shoulders and reappeared a moment later to throw a glass of hot water in my face.

Sighing, I grabbed a discarded towel from earlier and set Ralts down on the floor. Quickly wiping away the worst of the water, I glanced around for a place to put the damp cloth, before heading for the bathroom, and the racks within.

Halfway there, however, I paused, turning to my pack which was once again vibrating and beeping. Throwing the towel towards the bathroom door as a compromise, I made my way over to the pack with frown, wondering who'd be calling me now.

"Hello?" I asked when I finally got the commlink out.

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!?" Makoto shouted at me, while I heard Nabiki laughing in the background.

"I... umm... what do you mean?" I asked, confused.

Makoto scowled, before peering at the camera. "Is there a TV around you anywhere?" She asked, finally.

Looking around the room, I spotted a small television set in the corner, and nodded. "Yeah, what's up?"

"_Turn it on_," she hissed back.

Wincing at the vehemence, I waved Shinji to the TV, where he took a moment to figure out what buttons did what before powering it up.

"-or those of you just joining us, this is, again, an incredible video taken at Professor Rowan's Laboratory in Sandgem Town of the Sinnoh Region, where the Crown Princess of the Hidden Empire of Tokyo and her entourage display pokémon-like abilities to an astounded Peace Officer and Professor Rowan himself."

And indeed, onscreen, there were Ranma and I fighting so fast we were blurs, moments before we broke apart and he started trying to batter down my AT-Field.

"Incredible as it may seem viewers, Professor Rowan's refusal to comment, and the inability to track down the Officer Jenny seen in the video leads this studio to believe the video to be real... We're going to go to our correspondent in Eterna City Live now, where we've been told the Crown Princess passed through on her way to Sandgem."

There was a groan, and it took me a moment to realize the pained noise came not from one person, but everyone in the room. A moment later I was caught in the side if the head with a glass-worth of cold water. Makoto didn't say anything, but I saw her eyes widen, and I sighed as I used the towel still around my neck to quickly dry off.

"I can't believe someone videotaped that," I mumbled, turning back to the commlink. Makoto still looked livid, but behind her, I could see Nabiki with a huge smile on her face.

"Enjoying this, Tendo?" I asked with a frown.

"Oh Kyle, I would have never believed you could get yourself this deep... and from what I hear, you're watching a delayed broadcast. They interviewed some storeowner who said you were swimming in gold, a Nurse Joy who swears you're a danger to pokémon everywhere until you learn more about them, and about a dozen people who claim to have seen you do anything from fly to teleporting... did you call the fleet in and forget to tell us?"

"NO!" I shouted, scowling. "And I always checked before I flew! The only ones who saw me fly are Officer Jenny and Professor Rowan. Everyone else must have seen that video clip and claimed to have seen me take off."

Suddenly, there was a knock on our door.

"Who is it?" Shinji called, warily.

"Sinnoh News... is the Crown Princess of Tokyo in there? We'd like an interview!" The person outside replied.

"Oh Jesus," I grumbled, quickly tearing off the damp shirt and grabbing a spare tunic from my pack. "Ralts, hot water!" I said, holding the shirt away from my face. A moment later I was hit with a cup full, and shook what I could free before hastily pulling the shirt on. Not bothering to button it, I silently waved Shinji over before opening the door.

"Crown Princess?" I asked, scowling as a camera and microphone were thrust into my face, the bright lights temporarily blinding me. When the reporter realized there were apparently only two boys in the room, she quickly waved for the cameraman to turn off the camera, before looking us over with a frown.

"You're not the princess," she declared, finally.

"You're no queen yourself," I muttered, earning myself a glare. "Is there a reason you woke us up?" I asked, before she could say anything in response to my comment.

"We're looking for the Crown Princess of the Hidden Empire of Tokyo."

"That guy looks kind of like her companion," one of the crewmen said.

"The bodyguard was obviously a girl, you idiot," another guy replied.

"Maybe this is another one?" The first voice asked back.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Shinji asked.

"Err... nothing..." the crewman replied.

"So you don't know where... or _anything_ about the Crown Princess?" The reporter asked, frowning at the two of us.

I shook my head. "Sorry. I try to keep my reality separate from my fiction," I said flatly, before shutting the door.

Collapsing against it, I buried my face in my hands, before looking up when someone chuckled.

I had expected Mei to be the one laughing, but Mei was staring at the door in annoyance. Instead, it was Ranma, who'd apparently just come in from the balcony. "So much for needing to convince people. After this, who won't believe we're visiting royalty?" she explained between laughs.

I growled. "This was _not_ what I had in mind," I replied, before scooping up the commlink.

"Sounds like you're in it now," Nabiki said with a smirk.

Ranma started chuckling again, and I felt my scowl deepen. "Thanks. Maybe Princess Lyla should tell them about the four runaway members of the People's Republic of Seele who are wanted for war crimes against the Empire and happen to look like you four?"

Nabiki's smile died. "That's not really funny, Kyle."

"Yeah, well, I'm not feeling very happy at the moment, either," I explained, before sighing.

"Have you guys got your identities yet?"

Nabiki nodded, before handing the commlink to Makoto. "We just walked in to Professor Birch's Lab and told him we'd just moved from Kanto and our IDs got lost in the trip."

I blinked. "And he bought that?"

She shook her head. "Not at first... But Nabiki apparently knew enough about Kanto pokémon to impress him, and he gave her a Pokédex. The rest of us he gave directions to a police box where an Officer Jenny reprinted our IDs. We're from Viridian City, Kanto, but we're starting our journey in Hoenn."

Nabiki came back onscreen. "If I had to guess, I'd say Saotome played a part in building your back story."

I sighed. "You'd guess right."

"What do you intend to do?" Makoto asked from beside Nabiki.

I glanced over at the muted TV, where I could see the lobby of the Pokémon Center we were currently in; complete with reporter interviewing random trainers, much to the annoyance of the Nurse Joy at the counter.

"Well... we can't really go out the front door. I think it's time to call in SHODAN," I explained.

I turned back to the commlink. "You... You're not giving up, are you?" Makoto asked, looking close to upset.

I shook my head. "Not even close. I'll have to deal with this mess soon enough, but for now, I just want to take a few hours to relax. It's been a busy day. Reporters weren't part of my plan," I explained.

When she nodded, I smiled at her, "Hey, at least you guys are safe enough. Travel around, capture some pokémon here and there... have fun. We'll be fine..."

"Are you sure," she asked, after a pause to think it over.

I nodded. "I'll deal with it in my own way," I said with a tired smile.

Makoto winced. "Last time you said that, you vaporized a twenty-two kilometer Kilrathi dreadnought."

I smirked. "And it was dealt with, wasn't it?" I replied, before shrugging. "Don't worry. I won't do anything as flashy this time around."

"If you say so," she said with a smile, before looking off screen. "Call SHODAN in, then... We'll either call you later, or beam up to meet with you." She looked back at me, and smiled again. "I love you."

Returning the smile, I told her I loved her too, before cutting the connection.

For a moment I sat there, thinking about our conversation, before the sound of a helicopter outside pulled me out of my musings. Tossing the Commlink to Mei, I headed for the door.

"What? Where are you going?" She asked as she caught it.

"To divert attention," I said, before slipping outside. Looking down, I winced, before opening the door again. "Almost forgot," I mumbled, changing back into the now-dry clothes I had worn earlier and pulling on my pack.

"Coming, little buddy?" I asked, picking up the Ralts and putting him back on the pack. After a quick splash of cold water (Courtesy of a seemingly-more-serious Ralts), I peeked out the cracked door to make sure nobody was waiting to pounce on me, before slipping outside.

I knew Mei would call SHODAN in, and while the majority of MAGI-Omega's sensors were on _The Nerve, _there were enough pattern-detectors to pick me up on the Thunder if I was sufficiently active, and as I slid down the fire stairs at the end of the hall, I knew the upcoming confrontation would most likely energize me enough to be detectable.

"There's a trainer!" A crewman called, as I emerged into the Lobby. A moment later, someone else shouted "It's _her_!" and suddenly everyone was running towards me, cameras, microphones, lights and more approaching me in like an oncoming tidal wave.

I hadn't intended to do anything, but suddenly, Ralts clutched my head, and I could feel him shaking against it, utterly unprepared for the psychic wave of curiosity, excitement, and whatever-else the crowd of people was putting out.

Before they could come any closer, they smashed into an AT-Field, and I had to force the smile from my face as I heard broken glass and shattered plastic fall to the ground, followed by some stifled curses.

"What's the matter with you all? Can't you see I've got a baby Ralts?" I asked, feeling him peek out from around my head tentatively.

"Ra!" he said, as if to emphasize what I said.

"Put him in his ball!" Someone called out.

I shook my head. "I can't do that. It would stunt his growth!"

There were quiet whispers from around me as people spoke quietly about that, and I again had to hide a smile. I knew what they were thinking, and a moment later, it was proven true as someone called back, "pokéballs don't stunt a pokémon's growth."

I shook my head sadly, as if the person talking had just failed a very important test. "Maybe not physically, but how many hundreds of hours have you gone about your lives with your pokémon balled, unable to see the world around them? How much interaction with a world that is just as much their own as it is yours have you denied your own pokémon?"

Instead of whispers, there were quiet murmurs as everyone considered that. Finally, a cocky-sounding voice replied. "What if our pokémon is dangerous or large? We can't exactly walk around town with a Gyarados or Steelix out, can we?"

I frowned. "First off, I've yet to see a single building that isn't a private residence without a pair of oversized double doors capable of letting all but the fattest of Snorelax in... so your size argument is weak, unless you're one of the rare few with the largest of pokémon."

"Second off," I started, scowling, "If you call yourself a trainer, then why is your pokémon dangerous? Are you some sort of failure, incapable of reigning in your companions?"

There was a chuckle from the crowd in a few places, but mostly, there was stunned silence. Finally: "I challenge you to a pokémon battle! I'll show you I'm no failure at training!"

I smirked. Perfect. Now to move this circus outside. "Very well; I accept your challenge. Let's take this outside. Nurse Joy, if you would officiate, please?"

The Nurse Joy, who'd looked quite annoyed with all this, smiled when she realized this would get all these people out of her Pokémon Center, though as we walked out the door, she whispered to me, "Are you sure about this? That Ralts _is_ only a baby."

Reaching up to pat the Ralts on the head, I smiled. "Who said he's going to be the one fighting?" before she could ask for clarification, I cracked my knuckles and moved ahead, to where the crowd had formed an impromptu circle of spectators, and a single, cocky-looking trainer standing in the center with his arms crossed as he watched me make my way into the circle with him.

This would be my second time entering a ring to fight pokémon, and as I surveyed the spectators, some of who were hefting some massive cameras, I briefly wondered if the humans of this world were really so different than the pokémon they often employed in battle.

"What are your terms?" Nurse Joy asked the boy as I set my pack down.

"A double-battle, if she even has two pokémon to fight for her," he said with a sneer.

I shrugged. "Why not make it interesting. You all seem so determined to find out more about me. How about my Ralts and myself versus whatever two you want," I offered, hoping I'd understood what he meant by double-battle correctly.

The Nurse Joy looked shocked, but when the crowd around us cheered, she turned back to the trainer who was scowling at me with distrust. "Is this an acceptable offer?"

He looked around uncertainly, but this time, the crowd was definitely on my side, shouting at him to accept so they could see me go at it with whatever pokémon he had. Ahh, peer pressure.

"Sure. If the princess thinks she's good enough, I won't stop her."

Nurse Joy looked worried, but nodded. "Very well. This is a two-versus-two battle with no reserves. Win by knock-out or forfeiture. Trainers! Summon your pokémon!" She called out.

With a red flash, two pokéballs spit out their inhabitants, and the dying light of the sun illuminated a Gyarados and Steelix who roared upon their release. Even though I knew of both of them, I pulled out my Pokédex and scanned them both, before closing the 'dex and putting it back in my pocket.

Glancing over at Ralts, who looked up at the two serpentine pokémon with his mouth hanging open, I suppressed a wince, hoping I could cover him while I took these two down. Fortunately, I'd already scanned him, so I knew what moves he had, and while none of them would do much damage, they'd hopefully help turn the tide.

The trainer took a moment to explain to his pokémon that I was a valid target, while I crouched down to talk to Ralts.

"Allright, little buddy; you've seen what I can do, and I promise I'll do my best to protect you, but here's your chance to help me out some; think you can do that?"

"Ralts!" It cried, nodding its head once sharply.

I smiled. "Great! I need you to cast Will-o-Wisp on the big blue one, and Confuse Ray on the gray one," I said, pointing. The little psychic pokémon looked at the two for a moment before nodding again.

"After that, I want you to try to stay between the two of them. Shadow Sneak the Steelix if you want to, but keep an eye out for the Gyarados. I'll work on it first, then take out the Steelix, since I have," I chuckled, "a type advantage."

Ralts nodded, and I smiled, patting him on the head before standing up and spinning. Nodding to the Nurse Joy, who was watching me carefully, she returned it, smiling weakly, before dropping her arm. "Begin!"

I took off, flying towards the Gyarados lazily, a moment before a ball of blackish-violet energy passed by underneath me, impacting against the Gyarados and instantly bursting into a flickering green flame that spread across it's lower-half.

"Will-o-wisp!" Someone called out in surprise. The Gyarados glared at Ralts, roaring as the fire started to spread, and I took off, punching it with an AT-Field-encased fist as it appeared to power up a move. Whatever it was, the move failed as the Gyarados fell back from the impact, and I heard the crowd gasp as I followed through with a flurry of kicks and punches to the back of its head.

There was a deep roar from behind me, and I took a moment to turn around and watch as Ralts teleported around the Steelix slowly, his shadow stretching out and attacking the steel-snake from below as it thrashed about and attacked the air around it. Apparently his Confusion Ray had worked.

"Gyarados, use Hyperbeam! Steelix, Dig!" The trainer called, as he realized his pokémon wouldn't be able to overcome us by simply attacking at will.

Despite its confusion, the Steelix dove into the ground with frightening speed, while Gyarados' mouth started to glow as it powered up its attack. Holding up my hand and summoning an AT-Field to catch the Hyperbeam, I turned to Ralts, who was looking at the hole in the ground in confusion. "Ralts! Look at me! Trace my levitation!"

The psychic pokémon tried to do as asked, but apparently, using my core to fly wasn't the same, and with a roar, Steelix burst from the ground beneath Ralts, launching him into the air. At that moment, the Gyarados fired the Hyperbeam; the laser-like blast slamming into my AT-Field far more powerfully than Ranma's earlier Ki blasts. I winced as I heard Ralts hit the ground with a weak "raaaa..." but there was little I could do as the onslaught continued.

"Keep it up Gyarados! Let's see how strong that barrier really is!" The trainer shouted, and I winced as I felt the power smashing into my AT-Field actually increased.

Sparing Ralts a glance, I winced again at the way he slowly climbed to his feet, obviously close to collapsing. "Ralts! Come over here!" I cried, dropping to the ground slowly, as the Hyperbeam followed me, stopped only by my AT-Field.

Ralts complied, wearily making his way over to me with weak steps and very short teleports while the Steelix continued to attack the air and ground around it at random.

Just as I was about to reach Ralts, I felt the Hyperbeam let up, just as Steelix shook its head and turn to look at us with obvious anger in its eyes.

Turning to look at the Gyarados, who was breathing heavily, I remembered that Hyperbeam required a turn for the user to recuperate, and ignored it for a moment, focusing on the Steelix that was glaring at Ralts.

"Ralts, take a moment to catch your breath, then try to hit Gyarados with a confusion ray. I'll work on Steelix," I said, turning to look at the iron snake.

Before it could attack again, I took off, catching it in its chin with a kick that lifted it off the ground, before I spun and brought both fists down on top of its head, sending the entire pokémon headfirst into the ground. With a roar, it shook its head, sending dirt flying, before lunging at me with surprising speed, jaws agape. Just before its mouth wrapped around me, Steelix slammed head-first into my AT-Field, and I smiled, before unleashing a flurry of kicks and punches on its head while it was still dazed.

"Ralts!" I heard my little companion shout from below. Spinning, I saw Gyarados was back up, ready to attack, and apparently coherent. Ralts' confusion ray must have missed.

"Gyarados, use Bite!" The trainer called, while pointing at Ralts. I frowned, recognizing the move as dark, and knowing what it would mean if it connected. Ignoring the Trainer, who was yelling something else, I flew down to hover between Ralts and Gyarados, who was lunging, jaws-agape. Before it could bite me or Ralts, however, I spun, catching the sea serpent in the side of the head with a spinning back heel kick that sent its lunge off course and into the ground, where its impact threw up a cloud of dust.

Before I had a chance to laugh at the Gyarados with its mouth full of dirt however, something glowing bright white and moving fast caught me in the side, sending me flying into the ground where I rolled to a stop, groaning.

"What the hell was that," I mumbled, climbing shakily to my feet.

"Iron tail," someone called over to me, and I nodded, not really recognizing the attack, but definitely agreeing with the name. It felt like I'd been hit with a baseball bat, and a couple of my ribs were aching where I'd been struck; bruised, if not cracked.

Taking to the air with a slight wobble, I saw Ralts doing his best to dodge the Steelix as it tried repeatedly to head butt him and the trainer's Gyarados had managed to get the dirt out of its mouth and was apparently charging up another Hyperbeam.

With a burst of speed, I managed to grab Ralts out from under a strike from Steelix, and took to the air, before smirking. "You big dumb fish! Why don't you just give up!" I shouted at the Gyarados, whose scowl appeared to deepen as it continued charging its Hyperbeam. "You couldn't hit me before, what makes you think it'll work now," I continued, "you overgrown side of sashimi!"

Before it could fire it, however, I concentrated, and my wings emerged, at the same time I summoned my AT Field. With a flash, the Hyperbeam went off, impacting against the AT-Field with far more power than before. Wincing at the strain, I willed my left wing/tendril longer, snaking it around the AT-Field as I moved closer to Gyarados, who was too engrossed in firing to see it before it was too late.

With a shout, the wing had wrapped around its head, and my AT-Field fell, the Hyper-beam narrowly missing me to slam directly into the Steelix's head.

Before the trainer could call a halt to the Hyperbeam, Steelix, already somewhat beat up by me and itself during its confusion, collapsed, unable to handle to damage from an anger-fueled Hyperbeam.

Gyarados, realizing he'd missed stopped firing, panting heavily as it tried to weakly pull free of the grip I had it in with my wing. Taking a calculate risk, I flew up into its face, before smiling sadly. "That you tried is commendable... that you failed just means you need to train harder," I said, before grunting as I flung it upward with my wing, straining to avoid slicing it up like I had the doors in the Eva lift.

The Gyarados, still recovering from its Hyperbeam, roared weakly as it accelerated upwards, before gravity took hold and brought it back down to the ground with an earth-shaking crash.

Nurse Joy cut the air with her arm. "Gyarados and Steelix are unable to continue! Princess Lyla and Ralts win this match!" She shouted, to sudden cheers as everyone watching began shouting at once.

Settling to the ground, I smiled slightly at the praise everyone around me was suddenly heaping upon us, before they parted to allow a very-angry-looking trainer through.

"I don't know how you did it, but I refuse to accept that defeat! You cheated somehow! And you only used one Pokémon! The fight wasn't fair, and I don't recognize your win!"

The crowed quieted down, turning to look at me and hear what I had to say in response.

"You agreed to the terms that I fought by. If you're reneging on that agreement, then I think it only fair to ask you for reparations." I said, quietly.

"What do you mean?" He asked, scowling. It was fairly obvious he hadn't understood some of those words, but fortunately, he seemed to figure them out by context.

"I mean you are breaking our agreement, and I'm now offering you one last chance before I demand satisfaction," I explained.

"No! I told you, you cheated somehow. I'm not going to give you the satisfaction of claiming a win over me! I'm undefeated! There's no way a new Trainer could beat me with a weak little Ralts!"

"Ralts!" Ralts cried, shaking his arms at the trainer. I put a hand on his head briefly, calming him down, before setting him off to the side.

"In that case, since I'm unfamiliar with the rules of conduct here in Sinnoh, I'll have to rely on the rules I lived by back in Tokyo," I said, hearing quiet whispers around me as people tried to guess what they were.

"What's that?" The trainer asked with a smirk, obviously planning to deny me whatever I asked.

Grinning, I called willed my wings into existence again, they tendrils appearing and quickly stretching over my shoulders like glowing scorpion tails to point at the trainer, as I slowly rose off the ground. "Why, your death, of course," I explained with a dark smile. He took a fumbling step backwards, only to press up against an AT-Field I'd put behind him, and I floated his way, slowly, one wing drawing back as if to strike.

"No! You can't do this! I... This isn't Tokyo, its illegal! Someone help!" He said, turning and scrambling against the AT-Field futilely.

"A pity," I mumbled, as I approached, "I never even learned your name..."

"Alright! You win! You've won... Princess Lyla has defeated Ace Trainer Sato! Just... don't kill me!" he screamed, his voice cracking.

I smirked, dropping to the ground and letting my wings fade away as he started to sob. "Well then, that wasn't so hard now, was it? And I just remembered: in Tokyo, minors aren't allowed to enter binding contracts without parental guidance. But since you've admitted I won, I suppose it doesn't matter anyway." Turning to look at the crowd with a smile, I spotted a familiar face, and made my way over to it. "Nurse Joy?"

With a smile of her own, she nodded. "That's a win," she said, and the crowd cheered again. Moments before a number of reporters surrounded me and thrust microphones in my face.

"Princess, what's it like being in an actual pokémon battle?"

"Princess Lyla, despite growing up without pokémon, you seen to know quite a bit about them; could you please explain how you know what you do?"

"Princess, do you intend to fight all your battles, or will you eventually rely on pokémon like the rest of us?"

"Princess Lyla, would you really have killed him if you hadn't remembered?"

Shaking my head, I pointed at the reporter who last spoke. "I'd never kill a child, even one who could definitely use some manners. Hopefully he's learned his lesson and will be stronger for it in the future."

"And if he comes back looking for revenge?" Someone asked from the crowd. All the microphones edged in closer, awaiting a reply.

I scowled, "If he comes back seeking vengeance, he's welcome to. But when I win again, he'd best be willing to admit defeat."

"Or else what?" the same voice asked.

"Or else I'll have to scare him again," I replied with a smile. A few people around me chuckled, and I waved the cameras off. "As much as I enjoyed this battle, I do have to get going. My friends have already left, and we _are _trying to explore the world incognito... all these cameras aren't helping, really."

Turning around, I scooped up Ralts, who smiled weakly at me before falling asleep on my shoulder, and I grabbed my backpack, slipping it on the other shoulder before smiling at the cameras once more. "I know this is falling on deaf ears, but please don't come looking for me. I've only got so much time before I have to go back, and I'd like to spend it exploring the world with my friends, not giving interviews."

I wanted to say more, but suddenly there was a flash, and Ralts and I appeared on the bridge of the Thunder.

"Holy crap, SHODAN, could you have timed that any better?" Someone behind me asked.

"A rhetorical question, I hope," the AI replied, as I turned to look at Mei.

"Well... looks like the cavalry made it. How're things?" I asked.

Mei shrugged. "Celia is currently unconscious in one of the guest rooms here on the _Thunder_, Ranma and Shinji are being shown their respective quarters for the evening, and I'm merely keeping an eye on things here. Nabiki's group has elected to remain planet-side, however; at least, until they see a need to," Mei smirked nastily, "'_run away,_' as Nabiki worded it."

"I don't really want to stay up here myself, you know," I replied. "Still... while we're here, There are some things we could do that might make life a little easier."

"Oh? Like what?" Mei asked, curiosity evident in her voice.

I smiled, before brandishing my Pokédex. "Well, _these_, for one. The design is incredibly hardy, considering the apparent technological level this world has to offer in most ways, and I'm fairly certain SHODAN has the computational capacity to take something good and make it better."

"What do you have in mind?" The AI asked.

"Well, upgrade the database to cover most things likely to be scanned, for starters. And combining it with a video-capable commlink would be good, too," I said, before trailing off in thought. Finally, I shrugged. "Also, I suppose you could see if you can backtrack its data-link to the central league computers and start copying their plans. If we're really going to populate the new ship with civilians and pokémon, we're going to need to have the necessities: healing devices, storage systems, medicine properties, food ingredients... all that stuff."

"That's a pretty steep order," Mei said with a frown.

I returned it with a shrug. "Steep; not impossible. And SHODAN has the luxury of running 24-7, without needing to sleep. I believe Commander Cantrell and SHODAN can get the modifications done quickly enough to satisfy me... but there's more we have to work on."

"I assume you've considered our lack of transportation as one item to discuss," Mei stated with a smirk. "That is, unless you want to keep using Celia's car."

I shook my head. "I've thought about it, but aside from my car, which I know is somewhere aboard, I don't really think we have much choice."

"On the contrary," SHODAN interjected gleefully. "You have a fairly wide and impressive variety to chose from, though I'd suggest, judging from what scanners have detected, that you pick something capable of handling less-than-developed terrain... and not _too _conspicuous."

I frowned at that. "Why do I get the feeling I've not been fully informed as to what's aboard? Or are you suggesting an Imperial Armored Transport?"

The AI shook her digital head onscreen, a moment before the bridge dissolved around me, replaced by a darkened room with only a few bright-but-tiny indicator lights flashing in the distance.

"As an offshoot of Operation Sticky Fingers, Admiral Tendo Authorized a side-operation to compliment your more monetarily-minded scavenger hunt. The results of her Operation Five Finger Discount are currently being stored here." And with that, the lights came on, and I blinked in surprise at the size of the hangar, and what lay within. Beside me, I heard Mei gasp, and I would have smirked, if my jaw wasn't hanging open in shock.

All around us were vehicles. Ahead of me lay a black tank, much like the kind that had attacked us in Tokyo-3, and beside it, a multi-wheeled armored-transport rested, while further back, I could see various vehicles of military make and use stretching to the wall.. and that was only a third of the room. Off to the side, there were cars of every type and color, most of them sports cars, but quite a few SUVs and Sedans, and beside them was a long line of motorcycles which ran along side what could have almost passed as an airfield.

Planes and Jets littered the rest of the hold, and I spotted the familiar angles of an F-15 Strike Eagle, a few planes down from the sleeker carrier-based F/A-18. And off in the corner, there was an entire row of the same model F-22s that had taken part in the aerial battle over Tokyo-3, along with NERV-style hovercraft, and a long line of helicopters.

"Well... I am impressed... and I understand what you meant by having to chose," I said, finally, shaking away the awe.

"Raa?" Ralts asked sleepily from my shoulder, where I had apparently awakened him.

Reaching up absently to pat him on the head, I turned and began heading towards the SUVs, before stopping and turning back towards the tank.

"Hmm," I muttered to myself, causing Mei to frown.

"You aren't _seriously_ considering driving around in a M1A2 Main Battle Tank," she asked, incredulously.

"You have to admit, the though _is_ fairly tempting. But I suppose I'd never come across any pokémon in one of those. At least, not any that can hear..." I smirked. "Still, I can't help but wonder, if we have tanks and other armored transports..." I trailed off as I rounded the tank and spotted what I had been looking for.

"Oh. Now that _does_ make sense," Mei said, spotting the HMMWV I was now looking at. The Military Hummer was vaguely overshadowed by the nearby tracked armored vehicles, but the .50 caliber mounted machine gun, and bolted-on armor plating definitely differentiated it from any civilian vehicle.

"The gun will have to go," I said, with a slight frown. It was necessary, to be sure, but I didn't really like the thought of stripping the vehicle of its primary armament.

"SHODAN, the Millennium Falcon had a retractable repeating blaster... could we get something like that on the roof?" I asked.

"At the cost of some headspace? Yes. Do you have a weapons preference, or would a similar anti-personnel repeating blaster be satisfactory?" The AI asked smugly, the large space giving her already multi-layered voice an omnipresent echo.

"I'd prefer something with enough punch to take out anything we might come up against, as well as having the armor and internal systems upgraded to something closer to Imperial standards," I replied, before smiling. "Keep the smoke grenade launchers, though... that's a little too useful a trick to get rid of, though if you can conceal them a little better, that'd be great."

"Anything else?" SHODAN asked.

I shook my head. "That should be about it. Mei? Can you think of anything?"

The clone looked surprised, before frowning in confusion. "Why are you asking me?"

I shrugged. "Why not?" Before she could respond to that, I pointed at the vehicle, "Since you're going to be the only other person qualified to drive that, I thought you might have some thoughts. You're also the most trained on Imperial hardware."

Nodding, Mei turned to look at the Hummer again, this time with a critical eye. "Reactive window tinting, air-tight, with a complete recirculation and filtration system, full spectrum communications and scanning systems, and ergonomic seats... Also, have the Lieutenant Commander look over the engine, powertrain, and suspension, and modify them for the best efficiency and reliability."

I blinked. Then blinked again. "That's... not bad. I suppose I should top that off with self-sealing tires, a caltrop dispenser under the rear bumper, and room to store all our gear..." Mei smiled, and I shrugged. "That's all."

"You _sure_?" SHODAN taunted, before the vehicle disappeared from view.

"Yeah yeah..." I mumbled, before yawning. Turning to look at Ralts, who had somehow managed to fall asleep over my shoulder like a green-and-white sash, I sighed, before turning to look at one of the rooms many cameras. "I'm not sure about Mei here, but I'm exhausted. Take me to my quarters, please," I asked, a moment before I appeared there.

Gently setting Ralts down on the bed, I pulled out my Pokédex to check the time in Sinnoh, before groaning and grabbing a change of clothes. I was going to take a shower, and then I was going to sleep the sleep of the dead. Tomorrow my little pokémon adventure would _really _begin.

AN: Wow, that took two weeks for me to write those last two and-a-half pages... sorry... I just... lost focus. Which is kind of too bad, considering how great a writing streak I had been on... even if I get back on that track, the gap will always remain... in my mind, at least.

In any case... this is about it for the hour-by-hour, play-by-play type writing, since my characters won't be doing something important every minute, anymore. Well... I don't think so anyway. Things may change, but what I have in mind doesn't require quite as many words to say as what I've already done.

Thanks once more to Matt and Nate, my pre-readers, who've been waiting for the rest of this chapter for far too long... I wish I had patience like that.


	9. Chapter 8

"Well, it's certainly..." I trailed off, wondering which of the many adjectives running through my head was most appropriate.

"Obtuse," Mei supplied, as I floundered for a word. Turning to shoot me a quick grin as I mulled over her choice, I shrugged, before nodded in agreement.

We were back down on the planet, outside of Sandgem Town, and before us sat the Hummer the science division had gone at with our list of requests.

"It doesn't look very friendly," Celia offered.

Indeed, it didn't. While the general appearance was vaguely Hummer-ish, the lines and contours had been modified to our requests, resulting in a slightly-bulkier-looking vehicle that glinted darkly in the morning sunlight.

Not quite black, it was more of a graphite-gray, and the tinted windows denied anyone outside a glimpse of what lay within. Of course, as we were all currently outside of it as well, I shrugged, stepped forward, and pulled the door open.

The interior wasn't cluttered, but there were panels and hatches everywhere I bothered to look, and I did my best to ignore them as I climbed up into the surprisingly comfortable bucket driver's seat.

"Coming?" I asked the others, as they continued to look. With a couple mumbled comments, Ranma, Mei, Celia, and Shinji piled in, Mei taking the passenger's seat, while Celia and Shinji took the center seat.

Behind them, however, instead of cargo storage, there was a fifth chair set into the driver's side (where Ranma sat), across from which lay a number of electronics, a (currently locked) arsenal of Blaster Rifles, and some more equipment. Seeing the rifles reminded me of my request for a roof-mounted repeating blaster, and sure enough, running down the center of the interior was a bump that made sitting in the center hazardous for all but the shortest people.

From the outside, there was a ridge that ran down the center as well, and I smirked as I considered the possibilities. Fortunately, I wasn't really in the mood for senseless mayhem, so I nodded in satisfaction, before slipping back into my seat.

"Those had better stay there," Celia said, eying the racked weapons warily.

"They're there 'just in case'... we don't have any plans to actually use them," Mei replied, as she fiddled with the center console, which looked more like the interior of an airplane than it did a vehicle.

"Radar... communications... Ah! Climate control," she muttered, before turning on the A/C. While she was doing that, I was trying to find a place to put Ralts, who had been looking around the interior along with the rest of us. Everyone else's Pokémon were in their pokéballs, bur Ralts had verbally protested when I tried to recall him, so, after a few seconds of searching, I handed him off to Mei, who placed the little psychic in her lap after buckling up.

"We forgot to ask for child safety seats," Mei said with a grin as I put the vehicle in gear. It wasn't manual, like my car had been, and it didn't sound like there was an internal combustion engine under the hood. Instead, aside from the near-silent hum of the air conditioner, the loudest sound was that of the gravel and leaves crunching under the tires.

After a few feet of driving, and a small button on the dash lit up, drawing my attention. Keeping my eyes on the road as best I could, I reached out and pushed it, and a small container popped up from the dashboard behind the steering wheel with a pair of sunglasses inside. Smirking, I pulled them on, only to hit the brakes as my vision was assaulted with lights that hadn't been there before.

"Holy crap," I mumbled, staring out the windows. Apparently, the glasses were part of a Heads-Up Display system that oriented itself on my eyes, because there were indicators on each window outlining various Pokémon outside, many of which were invisible to the unaided eye. Tearing them off my head for a moment, I glanced at where the glasses had said a Budew sat, and after a moment of searching, I spotted a hint of movement and a flash of blue that led me to believe that it was indeed correct.

"What's wrong?" Celia asked, frowning.

"Cantrell or SHODAN must have hacked the Pokédex sensors. Check it out," I said, handing her the glasses. She slid them on, and I watched her eyebrows rise as she turned to look out the nearest window.

"That's... fairly impressive," she mumbled, before frowning and taking them off. "Takes some of the challenge out of finding Pokémon though, don't you think?"

I shrugged, watching as the glasses were passed around. "I'm not too concerned with the popular practice of catching them all. At least, not at the moment. And I'm not an easily-entertained 10-year-old just leaving home and learning how to make my way in the world."

"Could have fooled me sometimes," Shinji said, as he stared out the window with the glasses on.

Scowling, I snatched them off his face and put them back on mine, ignoring his squawk of surprised protest. "Well, I'm not. I'm in charge of a ship full of refugees and another full of military personnel. While we're down here sight-seeing," I explained, putting the vehicle back in drive and taking off, "they're up there, trying to rationalized what we so recently escaped, and figure out what to do next. Nabiki's plan, while crazy, just might be what it takes to calm things down. Otherwise I'm going to start getting reports of suicides and other deaths from _The Nerve_. And none of us want that."

Everyone was silent at that, before Ranma started rummaging around in the compartments in the rear. After a moment, he pulled out a second pair of glasses, handing them to Shinji, before passing more out to the rest of the passengers. Mei tried to fit a pair on Ralts, but without ears or a nose, they didn't stay in place long, and he didn't act too interested in what they offered, which only made sense, since he couldn't read anyway.

"So, where are we headed?" Mei asked, finally.

I shrugged. "If you see anything out there you'd like to capture, tell me to stop. Otherwise, I think we'll head east-north-east."

"Hearthome, or Veilstone?" Celia asked.

Glancing at her in the mirror, I quirked a brow. "Veilstone, preferably. Possibly Hearthome if there's some pressing reason to head there."

She nodded. "I'm not familiar with Veilstone, but I spent a summer in Hearthome judging Pokémon contests."

I frowned. "Like a referee? I thought the Joys did that," I queried, swinging the vehicle around a fallen tree. For a four-wheel drive light-armored transport, it was surprisingly nimble... though that might have been one of the Science Department's many modifications.

"Contests, not battles," Celia explained. "A Contest is where a Pokémon is dressed up by their trainer and performs before a panel of judges. In Sinnoh, there's an appearance stage, a dance contest, and acting, the final of which is really just using different moves in flashy or impressive ways."

I blinked. "No fighting?"

She frowned. "Not all Pokémon-related business involves Pokémon battles. And some of the moves can and do affect other contestants during the acting stage of the contest."

I nodded. "I'm not making light of it, I honestly had never heard of such a thing. My understanding revolves around Kanto and Johto's Pokémon leagues. As far as I know, both regions don't have contests."

Celia shifted in her seat, before responding. "It's... disconcerting to think about... but Kanto was given a bit of a face-lift about a year after Hoenn's Pokémon Champion was defeated a few years back... Officers passing through said the whole region looked like it had been refreshed."

Mei glanced over and me, and shrugged, before turning to look at Celia. "Sounds like Nintendo re-issued Red, Blue, and Yellow, and this world adjusted to keep current."

"Like one of those Universal Rewrites?" I asked with a frown.

"What ever happened to those, anyway? I remember when that happened back... home..." Ranma said, trailing off as he searched for the right word.

"I don't really know," I replied with a shrug. "I don't remember one ever happening in the Wing Commander Universe, or in Eva... and today is our seventh day in this universe, so unless we're not quite there yet, I don't know if this world will have one, either."

Shinji, who'd been silent during most of the conversation, spoke up suddenly, "If it's only happened in your world and Ranma's, then maybe it's because you didn't have a spaceship before then?"

I nodded. "Could be. It's probably far easier to 'edit-in' a few people, than it is to justify the existence of technology from another universe, far beyond anything currently available."

"Or perhaps it's only in universes one of you are from," SHODAN's voice stated from hidden speakers.

Glancing down at the dash, I spotted a small screen that was currently displaying the AI's computer-generated 'face,' and nodded. "That could be it, too. If that's the case, then we should be in the clear up until we reach Sailor Moon."

Mei shuddered. "I can only imagine what kind of fucked-up way my sisters and I are to be 'naturalized.'"

I winced, before nodding. "Makoto managed to fight it off partially, once before. We might be able to pull off something similar. Or find a way to avoid it, or get around it."

She didn't respond, and I left her to her thoughts as the trail we were on became rockier and less level.

"Are you _aiming_ for those potholes?" Shinji complained as the front end bounced out of a pit deep enough to hear rocks scraping on the underbelly.

"Honestly? I think I just hit a ditch at a bad angle," I mumbled, as the vehicle lurched over a speed bump that was surprisingly dense.

The path grew worse as we made our way across the countryside, the absence of paved roads giving way to rocky fields to the south of towering Mt. Coronet, an abundance of Pokémon, and the steady decline of the sun in the sky. Finally...

"Hearthome City," Celia exclaimed as we pulled onto a fairly worn path on the outskirts of a large city.

"So it would seem," I mumbled, pulling to a stop on the side of the road. Popping the door open, I pulled the glasses off (though as the sky had darkened, they'd amplified the lighting enough to continue driving with them on) and stretched as I hopped out.

Ralts, obviously glad to be out of the modified hummer, teleported to the ground beside me and proceeded to look around, much as I had started doing after popping as many joints as I could.

"Not bad," Ranma supplied, before pulling the pokéball off his belt and letting Eno out.

While Ralts and Eno began talking to each other, I turned to the rest of my companions. "I suppose we should find ourselves a room for the night."

"Makes sense," Mei responded, nodding.

"So we're off to another PokéCenter?" Shinji asked.

"Unless you'd like to recline a seat and sleep in the car," Mei suggested.

Shinji shook his head and turned towards the city. After a couple steps, however, he stopped and looked down at the small bag he'd been holding in surprise. Opening it up quickly, he pulled free the Pokémon egg, which was twitching visibly in his grasp.

"I think it's hatching!" He cried. "What do I do?"

"Set it down gently and call out your Bulbasaur. And get your Pokédex out so you can register it," Celia ordered.

Carefully, Shinji crouched and set the egg down, before pulling out his Bulbasaur's pokéball and calling it out.

Once it had appeared, the little plant Pokémon grunted, then turned to see what everyone was looking at.

The egg continued to rock on the patch of grass Shinji had set it on, before finally there was a cracking noise, followed by pieces of eggshell flying away, then a flash of light, and when our vision returned....

"Awww... It's so cute!" Mei squealed.

"... It's so rare..." I mumbled.

"What is it?" Shinji asked, crouching over it carefully and slowly.

"It's an Eevee," Celia said, her voice full of surprise. "It's like Kyle said, rare... and cute." She smiled. "Congratulations, Shinji. That little Pokémon is quite versatile."

"So I see," Shinji replied, absently, as he scratched the little Pokémon's chin like a cat. When it rolled over he gently rubbed its belly, earning vocalizations from the baby.

"Looks kinda like a cat," Ranma said, distrustfully, from across the road.

"Not really. Maybe a little. Far more fox-like, though." Mei said, as Shinji continued to play with his newest Pokémon.

After watching them for another minute, I sighed. "Well, I suppose, all things considered, those of us wanting to sleep indoors ought to get a room in town."

"What do you mean by that? You want to sleep out here in the... err... vehicle?" Mei asked.

"Not really, no. I actually want to go collect a couple Pokémon that are nocturnal and out of the way. I figured tonight's as good a time as any."

"Nocturnal Pokémon around here?" Celia asked.

"Actually, Dark-types, kind of far away; I figure a little flight, a little fight, and maybe it'll give you all some time to settle in before the media closes in," I replied, staring back towards Mt. Coronet.

"Ahh. You know, not all dark-types are nocturnal." The officer offered.

I smirked. "I know that. But from what little I learned last night, these two are somewhat out of our way, rare, and in rather annoyingly inhospitable places. Ranma might be up to exploring, but you, Mei, and Shinji?" I shrugged.

"You think I can't handle a rough trail or some thick trees?" Celia growled.

Grabbing a canteen and pouring some of its contents over my head, I shrugged. "There aren't that many trees on a cliff face." Taking to the air, I paused a couple feet above the ground and smirked down at her. "And unless you can fly, I really don't feel like teaching anyone how to mountain climb."

"Oh," she replied, staring at my feet for a moment before turning to look at Ralts, who was resting on the ground nearby. "Will you be bringing him? As a psychic type, he's going to be at a severe disadvantage if what you're hunting is dark."

Glancing down at him, I shrugged. "If this were a game, I'd be inclined to toss him an experience share and shove him in his ball. As it is, though, I'll keep him safe. He might draw some fire, but dark types are weak to fighting types... and I have a pretty mean right hook," I explained, holding up my fist and grinning.

"I don't doubt it. You're one of the few people I know willing to take on a Pokémon themselves. What do you want us to do?"

Glancing at Mei and Shinji, who were still engrossed with Shinji's new Eevee, I turned towards Hearthome City. "Take them into town, show them around, keep 'em safe... You know this area better than any of us, so I'll trust you to see them through the evening safely."

Celia frowned. "Thanks. From police officer to tour guide; my life is definitely improving," she said, as she turned to go.

I crossed my arms, and floated to the ground. "Don't take it so badly. You've seen my ship, my crew. You're no mere tour guide, you're pretty much our primary contact with this entire world. Selling yourself short helps nobody."

Celia looked at me for a second, then nodded. "Fair enough." Then she smiled. "Just try to stay out of too much trouble, princess."

Before I could yell at her, she had turned to walk off, joining Mei and Shinji over Eevee.

Deciding they had things well in hand, I turned to go, and almost ran smack into Ranma.

"Hello there," I muttered, before taking off vertically. Before I could get away, however, I felt him grip my ankle, and I shrugged. "I wasn't sure, but I thought you might try to tag along. Hold on tight," I said, before taking off.

Flying with Ranma's additional weight wasn't exactly _hard_, but it certainly was awkward, and I fumbled in the air when Ralts suddenly appeared on my shoulder and latched onto my neck.

"I was wondering when you'd catch up little guy," I said conversationally as I sped up towards Mount Coronet. Ranma yelled something from below, but the wind snatched it away, so I just shook the leg he was holding on to and sped up, smiling as his grip tightened.

"Ralts, you want to splash our passenger? He's a bit heavy currently," I said as we approached the most inhospitable looking face of the mountain.

Ralts squeaked something, and I wondered if he could summon water like water-types. Instead, a moment later, an orb of water drifted towards us from a small pool of melt water below, and it stopped ahead and below us. I smirked as I continued on, the water passing below my feet, to impact against Ranma's face as he flew into it, unable to dodge.

"What'd you do that for?" he –now she- yelled over the rush of air.

Flexing the leg she was holding onto, I nodded, "Thanks Ralts. That's much better." Spotting a promising ledge about three feet wide, I started to descend, keeping any eye out for any moving shapes against the mountaintop's snowy coating.

About twenty feet away from the cliff, I snapped a kick as best I could with the uneven weight attached, and enjoyed watching Ranma take to the air, flailing briefly before snapping an arm out here, a leg out there, and coming to a halt in the center of the path.

Touching down beside her a moment later, I nodded. "Nice recovery."

"You... you jerk!" She said, panting for breath.

"What? I didn't say you could come along. I could have peeled you off when I was still over that field of boulders," I explained, before turning to walk up the trail.

"Hey! You wouldn't do something like that!" Ranma cried, as she started to follow me.

"Maybe I would. Maybe I wouldn't," I said, slowing as the path narrowed to about a foot and a half, then disappeared around a bend.

On the other side, I smirked. There was a slanted side of the mountain, small, hardy plants poking up through the snow. And frolicking in that snow, under the dim light of the partially-cloud-covered moon, were a trio of Pokémon.

"What are they?" Ranma whispered.

"Absol," I replied in the same tone.

There was a soft snap, a muted beep, and I realized what was about to happen too late to do anything about it.

"Absol: the disaster Pokémon. Able to sense coming disasters, this Pokémon only comes down from the mountains to warn people of impending danger."

I buried my face in my hands as Ranma's Pokédex announced our presence to the Pokémon before us. Where before, the three had been playing with each other, they now stood shoulder to shoulder staring at us, and I couldn't help but wince at the distrustful look they shot us.

"Sollllll..." the largest of the three muttered, a moment before barking at the others. The one in the middle yipped in reply, then ran off, while the remaining two spread out a bit.

"Ralts, buddy, wanna tell them we're friendly?" I asked, smirking.

Ralts looked at me from my shoulder, before shrugging and turning to look at the two Absol and begin trying to talk to them. As he did, I sized them up, sure Ranma was probably doing the same as well.

Quadrupeds in form, the Pokémon sported a coat of white hair much like a cat, with a lion-like main of longer white hair around its neck. The black furred face was also somewhat catlike, but growing from the left side of its head was a sickle-like appendage that arched over its head like a horn. Its tail was unusual, as well, shaped like a scythe and dark in color, much like its face. Two pairs of red eyes stared at us, and as Ralts spoke, they gave us both a look, before turning their focus on Ralts.

Then their eyes narrowed.

"Aaand that's that. Ralts, get ready," I muttered, as the larger Absol spoke again.

As it finished, it charged, the other running to the side as if to flank us, and I felt Ralts stiffen, a moment before a barrier appeared between us and the Absol.

"Impressive, little guy!' I said, grinning. Then the Absol hit it with its horn mid-leap, and it cut through the psychic barrier as if it were tissue. That was when I remembered, Dark-types were immune to psychic abilities.

The feral gleam in the Absol's eyes was replaced with one of pain as it smashed into a second barrier, one that had been invisible until struck. Then it flashed orange, the concentric hexagons of an AT-Field flaring into visibility briefly before fading away.

"Not so easy a fight as you first thought, eh?" I asked, a moment before the other Absol leapt at Ranma. Fortunately (for Ranma) he'd been watching for just that, and rolled, catching the flying Absol by the forepaws and planting his foot in it's stomach before sending it along with a little boost in speed.

As the two Pokémon regained their footing and prowled back and forth ahead of us, I grinned. "Not nearly as powerful as I had thought... maybe we should look elsewhere?" I shot Ralts a grin, which he returned nervously, and then they attacked again.

Ranma, for her part, seemed somewhat bored as he practices redirecting his attacker through the air repeatedly, and after deflecting a couple lunges with my AT-Field, I started jumping back, until that got old and I hovered backwards in a large circle as my attacker continued coming at me.

During the next break, however, the Absol after me closed its eyes in concentration, and for a moment, its horn glowed white before a glowing blade of light flew at me from it, like some sort of laser boomerang.

"Woah" I muttered, as it passed over me, out towards the clouds. The next one impacted the ground below my floating feet, and I smirked, beginning to dodge this new attack as well as the physical ones.

Finally, however, we made a mistake. I'd ducked under a low flying-attack after dodging an impressive off-the-wall lunge, and the missed blast traveled a few hundred feet up the mountain before impacting with a satisfying boom. Unfortunately, the following rumble, was far less appealing.

The two Absol howled, and Ranma looked around nervously for somewhere safe to hole up.

Above us, a good ton or two of loose rock and snow slid towards us, growing in size and speed. The only real shelter was against the 10-foot ledge up the mountain side, where hopefully the snow and rocks would pass over us. Ranma and I seemed to see it at the same time and head for the spot, while the two Absol looked on in growing fear.

I waved them over, and rolled my eyes when they failed to move from their spot out in the open. Moments before the little avalanche reaches us, I grabbed one with the a wing, then the other, before capping our little hiding spot with an AT-Field and hoping too much snow didn't get around it.

The roar of the rocks and snow drowned out all but the loudest howl of terror the Absol gave off, and I felt Ralts bury his face into my neck as he held onto me in fear.

Overhead, my AT-Field flashed and flickered as the weight of the rocks and ice pressed down on it as they passed, and a few times, I winced as feedback indicated some fairly large boulders were rolling overhead. Finally, however, the rumble tapered off, disappearing down slope, and I glanced up at the rocks visible overhead, the glowing AT-Field holding them up also illuminating them.

"Well... this is a fine predicament..." I said, straining against the weight of the rock overhead.

"What should we do?" Ranma asked.

"Ralts, think you can take over for a second?"

"Raa..?" The Pokémon said from my shoulder, glancing up at the rocks overhead. "Ra!" He nodded once, sharply, before holding his hand up and summoning a barrier underneath the AT-Field, and I let go, watching as he hunched over as the weight settled on him.

Knowing he couldn't hold it for long (and watching the barrier overhead slowly shrinking, dirt pouring in from all sides) I pulled my commlink from my belt.

"SHODAN! We need help; 5 life forms where I'm at, bring us to the ship!"

"I'm sorry, you're out of range, give us a second to turn around and come get you," The AI replied, sounding somewhat smug.

"Hurry! I growled, before throwing up another AT-Field. Ralts relaxed, his glowing barrier disappearing as I took over, and the little Pokémon slipped from my shoulders to the ground, panting after holding up the debris overhead.

Unfortunately, before he could regain his breath, I felt something inside me slipping, slowly at first, but quicker and quicker, and the glow from my AT-Field overhead started dimming, then deforming as the center started to bulge downward.

"Aaaab" One of the two Absol said, seeing this, and I winced. Before I could ask, however, Ralts looked up at me, his big red eyes glowing softly, before he held his hands up and faced the ceiling. "Raaaaaaa!" With a cry, the rocks overhead disappeared behind another barrier, this one glowing almost painfully bright, and extending down to Ralts, who was also glowing.

"What's happening!" Ranma cried, as Ralts, now glowing an intense white, continued to yell as he held the barrier.

"Oh, wow, he's Evolving," I muttered, before looking around in confusion. Ralts' barrier was gone, and there were no rocks above, around, or below us. Instead, we were on the bridge of the Thunder, with two confused looking Absol softly whining.

"Kirlia!" my little partner said.

"Damn skippy," I replied. Then paused, frowning at him. "Do that again?"

"Kirlia?" he asked, and I blinked. While he'd simply stated what I assumed was his species, I'd gotten the distinct impression that he'd asked me what I meant.

"Apparently interpreting the confused look on my face, he spoke again. But this time, I ignored the sounds he was making as I realized I could _feel_ the emotion behind each word. If not what he meant exactly, then at least I could now understand how he was feeling.

"Okay there, little guy, looks like your psychic abilities are stronger than before."

"What do you mean?" Ranma asked, looking between us in confusion.

"I mean I can kind of get a sense of what he's feeling when he talks. Still can't quite understand him, but at the very least, I can repeat what I think he means until I get it right." I said.

"Well, I think he looks kinda girly like that," Ranma said, crossing her arms. "Is that a tutu?"

Poking her hard in the breast, I smirked as she winced and couldn't help but feel the surge of humor from Ralts, who was now a Kirlia, and boy was _that_ going to get confusing.

Glancing down at him, I sighed. "I guess calling you Ralts is somewhat futile, now..."

Kirlia nodded, and I shrugged. "Can't help it, then. Guess I'll have to give you a name."

"Kirl?" It asked. I got the distinct impression it was wondering why I hadn't bothered to before.

"Honestly, I hadn't even thought about it... I mean, I knew you evolved, but I didn't really think about the fact that you'd change names. I guess I was just thinking about Abra, and Kadabra, the other evolving Psychics I know of." I shrugged again.

"So what are you going to call him?" Ranma asked.

"Hmm..." I crouched down to look the Pokémon in the eyes, which were now visible, though green bangs hung partially in the way. "Well, he's a boy, mystical powers, red eyes, pale skin..." I trailed off in thought for a moment, before continuing. "At the risk of sounding somewhat horribly wrong... and probably enjoying it somewhat," I added with a smirk, "I think I'll call him Alucard."

"Kirlia!" Alucard said, with apparent pleasure. Instead of latching onto my head, though, he started twirling around like the ballerina he was dressed as, and I couldn't help but sigh. "First thing, though... we'll have to teach him to dance something a bit more manly."

"Solll..." One of the two Absols said, drawing my attention away from my Pokémon. "Huh... I guess you two want to head back down to your mountain and away from the crazy people, huh?"

One of them immediately barked an apparent affirmative, but the other, larger of the two paused, looking around the bridge curiously, before turning to look at me.

"Absol?" It said. I grinned.

"Oh, is this what I think it is? I've managed to pique your curiosity? Maybe given you something to think about? After all, I've shown you things you probably never thought possible, right? What else could you see, if you were to hang around?"

"Absol."

"Kirlia."

"Ab!"

"Kirrrrr..."

I got the feeling they were talking about me, and when Alucard looked at me before shrugging, I got an even better grasp of the conversation. Alucard was apologizing for my behavior!

"Okay, fine! I'll lay off. Still. Would you like to join us, Absol? I can't guarantee your safety all the time, and I get into some pretty impressive binds from time to time... but I can promise there's never a dull moment."

"Kirlia!"

Absol looked between me and Alucard for a moment, before nodding and walking over to me to smell my hand, before it wagged its tail like a happy puppy and sat down beside me.

"That's a pretty obvious acceptance," Ranma said.

"So it is. Guess I should make it official," I replied, pulling an empty pokéball from my belt. "And pokéball, go" I muttered, tossing it at Absol, who didn't try to dodge it. With a flash, the Pokémon disappeared, and the ball fell to the ground, wobbling slightly, before settling down. "That's that, I suppose we should head back. I had another Pokémon on my list to capture, but that can wait until tomorrow. You ready to go Ranma?"

"Sure..." the teen said, looking somewhat unhappy.

"What's wrong now?" I asked.

"I just... wonder what I'm going to do here... I have Eno, but I don't think I'm really cut out for this... you seem to know at least some of what you're doing, but I'm..." she trailed off, and I sighed.

"Feeling somewhat lost?" I supplied.

Ranma just nodded, and I walked over to pat her on the shoulder. "Ranma, as sure as I seem about my actions, I'm just as confused as you as to what I could possibly be doing here. Here! I'm in a video game I played years ago, facing things that were merely forms of entertainment to me when I was growing up... not to mention standing on the bridge of a starship that I'm also in charge of, surrounded by people I'm responsible for..." I trailed off, looking around at the night shift of officers manning their stations in the crew pits, some of which were trying hard not to watch me or eavesdrop and doing a terrible job of it. I shuddered slightly.

"Look. You can't go through life second-guessing every decision you make. And you can't get through life alone, either. Learn to rely on your friends, learn to make decisions for yourself.. that's what it means to be mature. To grow up. I have a responsibility to everyone on these ships; to see them through the aftermath of a near miss with utter oblivion, as well as the more mundane tasks like making sure everyone has fresh water to drink and three hot meals."

I turned to look out at the star scape ahead, and sighed. "I don't know what my purpose is... here in this universe, or on this ship, in charge of these people. But I know what my responsibilities are; and I'll see to them as best I can."

"... and what should I do?" Ranma asked.

I turned to look at her and smiled. "I can't tell you; that's for you to decide. But you should figure out what you _can_ do, and do it. It's a martial artists' job to protect the weak, right?"

"Yeah," she replied, hesitantly.

"Well, I've got a shipload of people who are scared, weak, and worried."

"So you want me to help them?"

I shook my head. "I can't tell you what to do. But if you see a problem that needs to be fixed, and you know you can fix it, then isn't it your responsibility to do so? To make life better for others?" I glanced back at the stars, before turning towards the Officer in (nominal) charge when the ship was in its internal night-mode. "Send that Absol back to where we came from before it gets too worried, then send us down to wherever Shinji, Celia, and Mei are."

"At once, Milord!" He snapped out a salute, and a moment later we were standing outside a PokéCenter, the flash from teleporting fading away.

"Kirrr..." Alucard said, to my right.

"Yeah, sleep sounds pretty good, little buddy. It's been a long day," I replied, before making my way inside. Behind me, Ranma stood outside in thought, before slowly following us inside, deep in thought.

* * *

AN: Another chapter up. I'm on a roll! What next, I wonder?


End file.
